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Chapter Text

Some say that the region of Liyue is one of the most peaceful in the entirety of Teyvat, with the peaceful reign of Rex Lapis and prosperous trade route, all who lived there were well off and living the greatest life. With the soft winds blowing over from Mondstadt and the sea spray at your heels, it was a dream spot for any tourist or adventurer looking for days filled with lively city life or scenic mountains and landscapes.

Huangshan thought that was an utterly ridiculous notion.

While the domain of Liyue had lived in relative peace with the other Archons and their nations for many years, the threat of monsters and the abyss order lurked around every corner and took up space on every road from the Harbour proper to Stone gate on the border with Mondstat. The world was a dangerous place and those naive enough to believe any place was spared the atrocities of demons and monsters would be digging their own graves. But that is why people like Huangshan existed. To help ensure those with enough sense in their heads, staying safe on their journeys through the region and even to those beyond. Though she herself only catered to escorts through Liyue, usually from Stonegate to the harbor. Huangshan usually took up a semi-permanent residence at Wangshu Inn, the halfway point between Mondstat and Liyue Harbour, and where most travelers and rumors would spread to. A good place to find business as a guard for hire and the Inn staff were always friendly and even let her help out sometimes when business was slow enough for her to be short on Mora for a room. Such a time had already come, with recent rumors of a dragon attack on Mondstat, many merchants had cut off trade routes with the city of the wind until their safety was ensured, and not many were traveling to or from Mondstat this time of year. Huangshan fancied herself quite adept at dealing with the dangerous creatures of the world but she wasn't foolish enough to try and take on a dragon so she had been avoiding Mondstat routes for a while, and that meant business was practically dead. The head manager of the Wangshu Inn, Verr Goldet, was kind enough to give her a temporary job as security for the Inn till business started picking back up.

The only issue with working as Inn security is that it gave her an awful lot of free time. The only time she was really needed was in the evenings when check-ins at the Inn picked up and foot traffic was heaviest. The mornings were usually set aside for cleaning rooms and, though she had never seen him herself, the ever-vigilant guardian Adeptus took up watch during the night. If anything was going to threaten the Inn, Huangshan was sure it would be no match for Wangshus resident Yaksha. She was mainly just for show to scare off rowdy guests at the Inn or to encourage little ones to behave themselves when she turned her stern glare on them when they clamored about the railings and furniture near the front desk of the Inn. So in her free time, Huangshan had taken to taking scenic walks through Guili planes in the mornings. It was just nearly halfway through the autumn season in Liyue and was still quite warm, as the Liyuen climates were year-round, but a slight chill in the air was just enough to scatter a cool breeze through the air making the atmosphere quite pleasant for a stroll. Maybe she would even come across a hill or rock face to climb and test her strength on. Although the Guili plane was riddled with monsters, she was confident in her skills to dispatch whatever came her way. Though she still did not go looking for trouble and stayed on the paths and marked trails through the ruins, she hardly encountered anything more challenging than a few wandering hillichurls or slimes, so she had little to worry about here. And it was one such lovely morning that Huangshan found herself gallivanting the muddy terrain and poking errantly at an electro cicin that had been the poor subject of her boredom. While Huangshan enjoyed her free time and the quiet atmosphere that had taken over the Inn in the wake of Rex Lapis’ death, she was bored.

Very Bored.

The young woman sighed heavily and finally stopped poking the poor creature with her silver rapier.

“Go on, shoo'' Huangshan waved her hand in a universal motion at the cicin and leaned back against the rock she was sitting atop of. She adjusted her plain traveling clothes and tightened her black fingerless gloves around her hands. All this time picking daisies and strolling through the Liyue geography was making her stir crazy.

“I need a job before I lose my mind and raid Smiley’s tea collection” She giggled to herself at the thought. The surly sous chef at the Inn was quite protective over his tea sets and would fly into a right fit whenever one of the cats or the children got too curious. She twirled her rapier around her hand in idle thought, maybe she should try for the harbor and try to pick up a client? She brushed her dark blunt bangs from her eyes and started plotting a route back to the Inn in her head. Maybe she could pester Smiley into making some Almond Tofu for her, she was craving something sweet.

“Excuse me, Miss? Are you Huangshan by any chance?”

Maybe today was her lucky day as she turned and saw a rather plain-looking man smiling awkwardly at her.

“That’s me, What do you want?” She replied curtly. Though this man looked harmless and innocent enough, Huangshan would not lower her guard so easily for a random stranger in the middle of a monster-infested plane.

“Ah! I am glad I found you, My name is Wang Ping’an, I heard from the staff at Wangshu Inn over yonder that you are a guard for hire, who deals in escorts to and from the harbor.”

So a potential client? Huangshan crossed her arms and gestured for him to continue. Though her attitude may have been a bit on the harsher side, she wouldn't be tricked or fooled into following a strange man straight into a trap where his intentions were not favorable.

“I am traveling to Liyue Harbour and was wondering if you would escort me there and then back to the Inn. Would 90,000 mora suffice for that?” Huangshan hid her shock rather well behind a well-timed clearing of her throat.

90,000 Mora? For an escort that was already nearly half-finished as they were nearly dead center of Guili planes? How could she really refuse an offer like that, especially when she had nearly cleared the entire road of monsters on her routine walks in the past couple of weeks?

“Alright you have yourself a deal, let me just get it in writing.” Wang Ping’an seemed slightly more hesitant at that but business meant covering your bases in a contract. This was the domain under the God of Contracts after all. Though Huangshan had no idea how well the “Wrath of Stone” would hold with the great dragons passing, she still intended to bind this man (and all her clients) to their word. She would not be cheated out of money like some immature Millileth on their first mission out of training.

------

Huangshan might have made a serious mistake accepting this man's business. She had not survived this long without trusting her instincts and something about this man screamed HAZZARD in big flashing red lights in her brain. He was more annoying than menacing in any aspect but there was simply an air about him that made her uneasy all the same. They had arrived in Liyue without any incident but it had been hours since then and the soles of her feet were beginning to ache from standing in one place so long listening to this man ramble about the Adepti to the book shop owner who was growing ever annoyed with the customer taking up her time, but too polite to turn away business. Mr. Wang Ping’an had a very passionate obsession with the Guardian Yakshas. It was amusing at first to know that this man coveted the last remaining Yaksha Adeptus that usually resided above her head at Wangshu Inn. Huangshan hadn't ever met Xiao, but she had heard from the boss and the other Inn staff that he was the rather antisocial sort, and rarely ever showed himself to the humans that ran or frequented the Inn. Picturing Mr. Wang Ping’an falling over himself like a schoolboy for a less than interested or pleased Adeptus nearly had her in stitches, but she held her tongue. It wasn't her place to inform him of Xiao’s current whereabouts, lest she attracts the Yakshas ire herself, which she was rather not interested in doing. But her amusement had faded rapidly when he simply would not shut up. And the uneasy feeling only grew the longer she spent with him.

“Mr. Ping’an, the sun has started to set, we should make our way back to Wangshu if we want a journey free of incidents.” She tried to nudge him away from the bookshop as gently as possible. Huangshan was not known for being soft or gentle with her words or actions, but she did have some semblance of customer service working in social situations with clients so often. She had also overheard some Mililieth guards on their break while she was waiting on her client to stop flapping his gums, about a Ruin Guard sighting on the road back to Wangshu Inn. While a bit of a challenge she could handle herself in a fight with one of the ancient machinery. But she would still rather avoid it and it was easier to see and avoid trouble with daylight than when her vision was reduced in the darkness.

“But that is why I have hired you! There shouldn't be any problem in staying a few mins longer and we are having the most interesting conversation” Ping’an smiled cheerily and resumed his one-sided spiel about ancient Adpeti legends.

The bookkeeper grimaced and attempted a stiff smile at her very passionate customer while Huangshan visibly scowled at the man. He was not technically wrong but anyone with a shred of self-preservation would heed the advice of their protective guard and not respond with such rude entitlement. While Huangshan was being paid as protective services, she did not like being treated as a mere meat shield for the clients' comforts. Her patience had officially run out and Huangshan tapped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest with a visible distaste for her current standing. She let her thoughts wander while Ping’an continued to gush over the tales of the Yakshas and ancient wars. Time passed rather slowly and Huangshan began to view the bookkeeper as some sort of Adeptus in disguise because only a god or mythical being could put up with this for so long.

Smiley would be less than enthused if she tried to order after-hours sweets again, maybe she could cook up something for herself once she got back to Wangshu Inn. Grilled stir fry sounded rather tasty right now and although Huangshan was a terrible cook, she was sure the recipe couldn't be too difficult to figure out. She needed to sharpen her rapier too, it had been a few weeks since she last did. Maybe she would even try to catch a glimpse of Xiao as it looked like should not arrive back till late. Huai’an said he could sometimes be seen lounging on the roof of the Inn or up in the branches above from the tree that housed Wangshu, late into the night. Huangshan really had no idea what he looked like. How old was Xiao? Probably much older than herself…..On that train of thought, how old was Huai’an? He seemed rather young in appearance but spoke and acted as if he was nearing retirement. He was married to Verr Goldet who could not be much older than her late twenties to early thirties. Would it be rude to ask his age?

“I am sorry sir, but we are closing the shop for the night. You are more than welcome to come back and purchase another book tomorrow” The shopkeeper's voice shook her from her thoughts and she looked up to realize that night had now fallen completely, and the city of Liyue was glowing softly from the light of the lanterns that were lit during the night. How long had she zoned out while this buffoon had yammered on? It must have been some hours now, as they had arrived in the Harbour in mid-afternoon and the moon was already quite high in the sky.

Ping’an looked disappointed but accepted the shop closing for the night and began to pack up his purchases, a collection of books that detailed stories of the Yakshas, to leave. Huangshan shifted her feet and straightened up for the first time in what felt like years from where she was leaning against one of the wooden pillars that held up the businesses on the Feiyun slope. Huangshan nodded at the shopkeeper and shared a look of mutual annoyance and understanding with the young woman before she followed after her pesky charge. The ominous feeling she had felt earlier had grown into a tight knot that sat in the out of her stomach and the sooner she could get back to Wangshu Inn and away from this job the better. Ping'an spoke just as they were crossing the bridge out of the harbor.

"You know it's rare I meet someone who shares my appreciation for adeptal history. I wish I could have stayed longer'' Huangshan bit her tongue to suppress a snappy retort that nobody wished to listen to him for as long as he kept that poor book shop keeper.

"Oh, and I didn't even get to show her this! I found it while going through my Grandfather's things, he was well versed with the Adeptal legends ya know!" Ping'an pulled out a rather ridiculous-looking mask and waved it in front of her face in his excitement, the look of pure joy and adoration on his face.

"I am sure she would have loved to see it. Who knows, maybe it once belonged to one of the Adepti themselves." Huangshan decided she wouldn't be the one to crush this man's dreams, as annoying as he was she wasn't a monster and he wasn't hurting anyone with his excitement.

"You think so?!" Ping'an practically vibrated beside her and laughed into yet another exciting spiel about the mask he now held reverently in his hands. Through chatter at the Inn and Ping'an's gushing, she knew that Guardian Yakshas all wore masks when they vanquished evil in the land, and picturing any one of the mythical and powerful beings wearing such a beat up old trinket upon their face brought a smile to her face. Huangshan could admit the man was endearing in his own right. His passion was something to be admired at the very least.

The rest of their journey passed rather peacefully, with Ping'an happily chatting away, and Huangshan half listening and half scanning their surroundings. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when the twisted branches of the towering tree of the Inn came into view just beyond the next rise.

"We're almost ther-'' Hunagshan cut herself off and frozen mid-step and sentence. The hairs on the back of her neck flew up in surprise and an encompassing sense of dread seized her heart with cold claws. It was as if someone poured ice water into her veins as all her instincts started screaming DANGER, DANGER, DANGER! Something was wrong, terribly wrong. And how right she was as she heard the telltale whirring and clicking of ancient gears off to her right, just beyond a small copse of trees. Ping'an was none the wiser and was still yammering on. Huangshan tensed and slapped a hand across his mouth while her other formed a pointer finger to her mouth.

"Shhhhh!" She shushed him violently and began dragging Ping'an behind a tall rock that sat off to the side of the road. Once safely behind cover and out of the direct line of fire she released him and scowled at his offended look. Huangshan peeked over the side of the rock, over to where the ancient monster was lurking. The darkness shrouded the fields and created lingering shadows and dark corners, the most she could make out was the old weathered metal of the Ruin Guards protective armor and from the soft whirring, she knew it was active and roaming around, so there was no chance of sneaking past it without alerting it to their presence.

"Stay here, and stay quiet, I'll take care of this." She glared at him when he went to protest and held out her hand in a 'stay' motion before sliding silently around the rock face and through the bushes. It hadn't noticed her yet and if she could keep the element of surprise she could have this battle over before it even began. She drew her rapier from the scabbard at her back and slunk closed to the oblivious machine. A violent rustle of the bushes behind her had her swinging her weapon in tandem and nearly slicing through Ping'an's head as he stared down the sharp edge of her blade. The fool has tripped through the shrubbery in his attempt to follow her and created an awful racket, and the clicking of machinery rose in volume as the ancient monster noticed the both of them and advanced. Huangshan had barely a moment to comprehend the situation before an ice-cold dread even more frosty than before slashed through her mind. How wrong she had been about her foe as she stared down the razor edge of a Ruin Hunter’s arm. Her muscles tense and her grip tightened around her rapier as she reacted purely on instinct and full-on flung her weapon towards the eye of the Hunter. Her blade hit home in a shower of sparks and the old guardian hunter reared back in jerky stunned movements buying her a few precious seconds. Huangshan whirled about and seized Ping'an's forearm hauling the man up to his feet and dragging him away as fast as possible.

"Run, you idiot!" She shouted back at him and tore off into a full sprint away from the recovering Hunter. Blood rushed in her ears and her heart pounded with each dull thud of her boots against the dirt as she raced through the brush with Ping'an hot on her heels and screeching in terror. The Ruin Hunter surged forward and Huangshan threw her whole body weight into Ping'an sending them both tumbling into the ground as the sharp sound of razor metal careened right over them, just shy of her head. She had managed to dodge the drill-like attack but the tree to her right was not so lucky and the Hunter ripped through its trunk like soft cooked meat. Bark snapped and crunched as the tree lost its balance and foundation and toppled over right towards them. A pained yell escaped Huangshan as the felled tree crushed her leg into the ground, tearing through flesh with jagged broken tendrils of wood.

Huangshan knew the feeling of broken bones, the snap was a sound you don't forget easily and the dull ache that set in instantly was easy to identify. luckily for her, the tree was still young and nothing had snapped under its weight in her leg. But a short tug revealed she was stuck well under its remains, stomach down and unable to get the damn thing off at her current angle. Ping'an, having been spared the tree, started lifting it off her easily and the separation stung but it was worth it to get out. Huangshan began to scramble out from under the tree when the Hunter, having recovered from sliding through the plant life, tore towards them once again with fire and steel blazing. Ping'an shot her a desperate look before dropping the log of the tree back onto her leg, enlisting another pained yelp from her.

"I'm sorry!" He gave her one last pained look before tearing off into the planes towards safety.

"Hey! You coward!" Huangshan takes back anything nice she ever thought about Ping'an. She groaned and fumbled about trying to free herself from her entrapment as the Hunter barreled down on her. It was a lost cause anyway with how close the machine was to her, and terrified tears sprung to her eyes as she raised her arms up above her head in hope to somehow protect her head and survive being torn apart.

"Please. Somebody! Anybody! Help me!" That was her last thought before a cacophony of noise erupted around her and the earth shook as she was thrown, flying from her position on the ground and tossed through the air. She didn't fly far before hitting the ground hard and rolling away, her back meeting a large rock and knocking the wind from her lungs. The noise didn't stop, a mash-up of metal scraping against metal and the swing of a blade through the air, the whirring of gears and clacking of steel arms rang through her head so loud she feared her ears might pop. Huangshan curled tight with her knees to her chest as a violent wind rushed all around her, ruffling through her clothes and nearly tearing her hair from the tight bindings she kept it in, joining the noise in a terrifying combination. Saltwater gushed down her cheeks as every tendon in her body braced for impact as the noise continued.

And then it was silent.

Silence filled the area as quickly as the noise had, not even the rustle of a mora mouse in the bushes could be heard as the stillness set in. Huangshan inhaled sharply, not realizing at some point she had held her breath and began to gulp down air fast and greedily. She forced her arms down from the protective place on her head, shaking as they went, desperately trying to breathe and calm down. Her heart raced in her chest and her vision fuzzed at the edges as the adrenaline coursing through her system refused to loosen its hold on her just yet. She counted in her head as she took account of herself. No limbs had been ripped from her body and other than the throbbing in her leg no blood had been spilled from her veins. She was mostly unharmed. Tears still flowed freely down her face as she forced her lungs to work and tried to get breathing under control in her disoriented and frightened state. Though Huangshan wasn't new to close calls, they never got any easier and she didn't think she had ever had such a close call before. Furiously wiping at her wet eyes and face she finally took in her surroundings.

Ping'an was nowhere in sight, his package of books lay scattered in the dust forgotten. The Ruin Hunter lay mere feet from her form, scattered and deactivated with chunks of its armor cut completely off and long jagged strips scored through the metal in the places it was still attached. Pieces of its inner working scattered around it in a haphazard display, its eye dark with her rapier still embedded into it. She reached out her hand and smashed her fist lightly against it 'Head'.

Nothing

No reaction, no movement, the ancient technology was truly destroyed and would not be getting back up. Huangshan breathed out rapidly and let her poor body intense a bit for a moment, knowing she was at least safe from immediate death by Ruin Hunter. Quiet footsteps had her tensing all over again as small purple boots with golden guards entered her vision. Her dark brown eyes traveled up to reveal dark purple trousers and pink-colored sashes that met a white sleeveless shirt with a black collar. An anemo vision rested snugly on black and dark turquoise gloves with gold decals and the hand attached held tightly to a jade-colored spear with glowing accents. The boy before her was short and surely couldn’t be any older than 17 or 18. Dark teal hair with bright teal accents poked around the beast-like mask that rested on his face with eyes that glowed a fierce green. An unnatural turquoise glow that was intermingled with dark shrouds surrounded him, alluding to the fact that maybe this boy wasn't as human as Huangshan's first thought was. For a few moments, they were locked in an intense staring contest. Huangshan began to feel uneasy with this unnatural boy staring her down the way he was when she could not even look him in the eyes with the horned mask upon his face. After seeing that he wasn't going to say anything or move Huangshan began to very slowly and cautiously move to stand up as if moving too quickly would frighten him off. Huangshan recoiled in pain and stumbled as her leg refused to support her weight on her own and landed awkwardly on the ground. This action spurred the boy into motion. A precise twirl of the jade polearm had the hilt pointed out towards her. Huangshan looked up at the mysterious stranger and after a moment and a soft glare, decided to trust him. She grasped the blunt handle and with a gentle tug from its wielder was able to pull herself to her feet. Her feet stuttered and she almost fell into the dirt once again but the weapon pushed further against her abdomen, acting as a crutch to hold her up, steady and strong but still gentle. She found her footing enough to keep herself from falling to her face in the brush. The jade weapon pushed against her lightly, again careful not to bruise her already battered body, and Huangshan was left to wonder why its owner seemed so adverse to touching her when he obviously wished to help her.

"...Can you walk?” Her strange rescuer spoke for the first time, his voice was young too, but she was beginning to think his appearance was deceiving.

She took a deep breath at the throb in her calf and gripped the polearm tighter as she steadied herself on her feet and gingerly tested her leg by adding the slightest amount of weight. She winced at the sharp pain but she persisted. It hurt quite a bit, but she could stand semi steadily. She peeked over at the young warrior to see if he was suddenly going to retract the steady crutch he had provided, and the masked face tilted their head slightly at her, gesturing for her to continue and the weapon did not move from its place against her. She shifted the weapon under her breast for more support and stepped lightly forward. When her leg did not give out on her, she took another step and another.

“I think I can.” The polearm was slowly pulled away gently by its owner, cautious not to let her fall should she suddenly have her injury cause her to lose her balance. She looked up to thank him and all that greeted her was a wisp of anemo energy that ruffled softly through her bangs and the strange rescuer was gone from her sight. Huangshan hummed in thought as she slowly began to limp her way back towards Wangshu inn.

-------

"Oh, dear! What happened, are you alright?" The worried soft brown eyes of Verr Goldet greeted her as Huangshan stumbled out of the elevator onto the upper floor of Wangshu Inn. The boss of the Inn rushed from around the back of the front desk and over to assist her, swinging Huangshan's arm around her shoulders and grabbing her waist to help her hobble across the lobby to a nearby bench. It was late enough into the night that Verr seemed to be the only one awake, watching the desk and assisting late-night guests around the Inn when needed.

"I'm alright, for the most part anyway. Had a nasty run-in with a Ruin Hunter on my way back with a client." Huangshan grunted in pain as her leg tweaked in the wrong direction as she lowered herself into the padded surface of the bench. Verr rushed around gathering medical supplies from behind the desk and fussing over her as she sat beside Huangshan and propped her injured leg onto her lap. Now that Huangshan had a moment to breathe and process without the floor of adrenaline spurring her body into overdrive, she took a close look at her leg. It wasn't a pretty sight. That tree had truly mangled her and the amount of blood was concerning. She would be out of commission for a while it seemed.

"The Ruin Hunter did a real number on you." Verr hummed in displeasure and set about the task of slowly cleaning the wounds from her calf.

"The Hunter never touched me actually, got this fine new scar from a tree that toppled onto me." Huangshan patted the side of her thigh and winced at the sting of disinfecting herbs on her torn skin.

"Oh? Did you manage to escape? Those machines are a menace, how did you manage that?" Verr asked in surprise as she pulled out the thread and a needle to stitch her wounds.

"Well…" Huangshan went on to describe the events that took place that day as Verr nodded along while catching her up. By the end of her tale, some time had passed and her leg was fully cleaned, stitched, and bandaged under Verr's careful hands.

"That boy...did he wield a jade spear?" Verr asked as she rinsed her hands in a basin of water after ticking the medical supplies away under the desk once more.

"How did you know?"

"It looks like Xiao spotted you from the roof of the Inn and decided to help you." Verr smiled knowingly at her.

No way. That was Xiao? The illuminated Adeptus? Guardian Yaksha and Conqueror of Demons himself? He looked no older than a young boy, barely old enough to be a Milileth soldier! The otherworldly aura surrounding him made so much more sense now. Verr laughed heartily at her stricken expression.

"That's the same expression most people make when interacting with Xiao. He is not one for receiving thank yous, but his favorite dish is Almond Tofu if you want to try. There’s no guarantee you'll catch his attention though. But enough talk, it's late and we best get you up to bed." Verr slipped her arms around Huangshan and half carried, half dragged her up the stairs to her room. Luckily for them both, she was on one of the bottom floors. The boss tucked Huangshan into bed and kissed her forehead sweetly like a mother before snuffing out the candle lamps and uttering a quiet goodnight and closing the door softly.

Huangshan listened carefully as the boss' soft footsteps echoed down the hall and ascended the stairs to her own room on the top floor. She waited another ten mins as the stillness of the inn settled around her. Once she was sure Verr was in bed for the night and would not be coming back down, Huangshan threw the covers off and sat upright. She rolled herself off the mattress and made sure she hit the floor on her front to save the bruise on her back from further abuse. Walking back to the Inn with her leg wounded exacerbated the injury probably but she didn't have much of a choice, she couldn't exactly ask Xiao for a pony ride. She was smart enough to not try and walk again till her leg had healed some though. Huangshan braced her knees on the floor and crawled her way out the door of her room, careful not to drag her skin on the wooden floor and scrape herself up. Her destination wasn't far and once she reached the old oak door she reached up and twisted the ornate gold handle, swinging the door open with what little leverage she had upon the floor. She inched forward into the room and grabbed the first object her finger landed upon which was a recipe book that had been discussed on the floor near the door. She wrenched her hand back and lobbed it at the snoring occupant of the room, eliciting a yelp and a curse.

"What the fuck-!"

"Smiley! Up and at em old man I need you." Huangshan grabbed around for another book in case her first assault did get the sous chef out of bed.

"What? Huangshan? It's the middle of the night! What are you doing on the floor in my room!" Smiley Yanxiao rubbed at his eyes and sat up from where he had fallen from bed when the book had met his face.

"Teach me how to cook...right now" Huangshan ordered from her spot on the floor.

"Are you injured? What's going on?!" Smiley fretted as he stood up and walked towards her.

"Got into it with a Ruin Hunter, but that ain't important we got bigger fish to fry. I need you to show me how to make Almond Tofu." Huangshan replied.

"A Ruin Hunter?! What-" Smiley was cut off as another book smacked him in the face.

"By the Seven! Stop throwing things dammit!"

"Hey! Bigger Fish. Now let's get this show on the road we ain't got all night." Huang shan was already exhausted and would rather get to work as soon as possible.

"And just how do you plan on doing this when you can't even stand up?!” Smiley said incredulously, holding his smarting nose.

"Carry me."

"Excuse me?!-”

"Look, old man, you are helping me make this dessert whether you want to or not, so suck it up and carry my happy ass down to the kitchen." Huangshan pointed a finger at him with her no-nonsense glare in place.

"I'll do no such thing-"

"Do it, and I'll buy you that expensive tea set from Madam Ping that you were drooling over last week."

"Deal!"

-------

Several hours, and arguments later, Huangshan had managed to put together an only slightly burned dish of Almond Tofu and with Smiley's help, had set the plate out on the highest balcony of the Inn along with a single silk flower and a note with a simple "Thank you" in her sharp handwriting attached to the stem. The two had retreated into the Inn and were set upon the padded bench just inside the cover enjoying some sweet almond tofu, this one not burned as Smiley had been the one to make it.

Smiley eventually called it long after the tofu was finished and the first rays of the sun were breaking through the horizon to spawn in the new day. As he lifted her up onto his back and turned to descend the stairs to their rooms, Huangshan's eye caught a flash of green and she turned her gaze out to the balcony. Slanted golden eyes with red liner and diamond pupils caught her own as the Yaksha picked up the plate and flower from the railing. Only a heartbeat passed but it felt longer as she held his enchanting gaze. Huangshan smiled slightly at the handsome Adeptus to show her thanks. He did not return her smile, but she noticed he held the silk flower close to his chest before disappearing altogether in a burst of anemo shadows, not a trace of him left behind but a soft breeze that ruffled through her hair. Huangshan rested her cheek on Smiley's back and sighed, letting her eyes fall closed and sleep claim her after such an exciting day and night.

Chapter Text

Smiley Yanxiao grunted and wiped the sweat from his brow as he finally set down the last box he was hauling onto the floor of the kitchen of Wangshu Inn. The business at the Inn had gotten extremely busy in the recent days. A cold snap had hit the Harbour and had attracted all manner of monsters out of hiding in the frisky lower temperatures. Wangshu Inn had been swamped with weary travelers looking to get out of the cold and abandoning their campsites as well as deploying all manner of security they had to keep the tide of malignant beings that had been getting far too curious and straying close to the Inn. Most were hardly an issue, with just hillichurls and a few bolder slimes and samachurls. Easily dispatched by the few Millileth guards and Adventurers that were staying at the Inn, though the treasure hoarder guild had taken advantage of the recent chaos and was stirring up trouble around Dihua Marsh, causing immense anxiety in the already stressed staff, so everyone was helping out wherever they could. Even Xiao was kept busy vanquishing the demonic forces that had come crawling out of the woodwork. The past week alone Smiley had seen more of the Adeptus than he had in his whole 6-year tenure working at Wangshu, running to and fro to keep the hillichurls, treasure hoarders, and overly curious slimes away from the Inn. The colder weather didn't help as Liyue was known to be warm year-round with a nearly tropical climate so the recent chill that had settled in had everyone spooked, especially with no warnings of any bad storms with the rite of descension having fallen through this year.

“Smiley! Just a few more boxes and that's the last of the shipment!” Huai’an called out to him from the top of the short staircase leading to the reception area from the kitchens.

“Thanks! I'll get the last of it!” Smiley called up and bounded up the stairs on light feet, ruffling a disgruntled Huangshans hair as he went. The abrasive young woman was still recovering from a bad run-in with a Ruin Hunter and was on strict orders of light-duty only, luckily the Boss had her overseeing the incoming ingredient and amenities shipments to keep her busy since she was unable to take up her usual position as Guard for Hire. A fact she had very loudly complained about after business picked up so quickly right after her injury occurred from a job went sour. Though it was rather funny to watch the essentially crippled woman scare the daylights out of her previous client and demand double pay for what had happened, while she was sat upon the floor.

Smiley huffed as he lifted the last of the boxes and very carefully carried them down into the kitchens, the sweet smell of sunsettias wafting up from the cargo in his hands.

“Better start on getting all this putaway.” Smiley idly said to himself as he started prying open crates and grabbing out perishable ingredients to go into the icebox, setting aside the smaller ones to grab the largest to go in first. Smiley stood up from his crouched position with an armful of meat cuts and opened the heavy lid of the icebox, only to scream in horror and drop the items with a rolling clatter to the floor and lunge away.

“Why is there a Hydro Slime in the Icebox?!” Smiley shrieked as the curious little blob jumped out and wiggled across the floor towards him.

“There's a what in the what?!” Hunagshans exasperated voice called down to him before he heard her calling out to Huai’an to grab one of the Milileth. Verr Goldet ran into the railing and leaned over, amber-colored hair falling in tangles and looking aghast at the scene before her, and quickly rushing off again shouting out for help with the situation. Smiley lunged and tried to spare the ingredients clustered around the kitchen from the slithery trail the slime left in its wake, hopping around the kitchen dodging the slime trying to jump at his legs. And what a perfect time for Xiao to vault himself over the railing into the kitchen, spear drawn and headed straight at the offending little creature.

“WAIT! Don't kill it!” Smiley jumped across the table in the center of the room and grabbed onto the wiry Adeptus under his arms, restraining him, spear and all.

“Eh?!” A truly terrifying golden glare was turned on him. Smiley resisted the urge to gulp. This was the first time he had ever been so close to Xiao and despite his boyish looks, Smiley could feel the otherworldly menacing aura emanating from him this closeup, reminding him that he held a legendary spirit in his hands right now. Most were not foolish enough to ever lay their hands on an Adepti at all, but Smiley’s brand new food shipment was at stake here and that was far more important than whatever mythical punishment he would receive for holding back the Yaksha.

“It'll contaminate the food! Take it outside.” Smiley somehow managed not to stutter out to the grumpy Adeptus in his hold. They held eye contact for a second as the slime happily hopped closer.

Xiao made an exasperated noise and squirmed easily out of Smiley’s hold, charging at the slime and flipping his spear blunt end down and poking at the hydro Morpheus creature with sharp small bursts of wind, nudging it towards the stairs and away from the kitchens, chasing the thing up the stairs and out out of the Inn. Smiley raced up after him, just barely catching sight of Xiao’s sashes whirling around the corner and down the stairs. There wasn't a second to rest as a woman's unearthly shriek made him bristle in discomfort. Smiley bolted for the stairs leading up to the upper rooms of the Inn, with Huai’an hot on his heels in panic. Smiley hadn't even breached the stairwell when a blue wet blob hit home in the center of his face. The chef sputtered and fell backward onto Huai’an, slime and all accompanying him. It was a miracle they didn't tumble down the stairs. After launching the offending creature off his face and spitting profusely Smiley sat up to see the entire third floor of the Inn crawling with hydro slimes. The scream was from a young female traveler that had one of the monsters chasing after her down the hall. They were even stuck to the ceiling for Archon’s sake! Smiley pulled himself to his feet and helped a slightly disoriented Huai’an to his feet as well before grabbing a broom propped against the wall and swatting at the nearest slime.

“Where did they all come from?!” Smiley shouted over the ruckus of scared guests and squishy slime hopping about. Guests started coming out of their rooms to see what the racket was about. One elderly man came barrelling ut of his door screaming bloody murder with a carefree slime hopping after him out of the room.

“They're getting into the rooms!” Smiley shouted over to Huai’an who was also dodging slimes as he weaved across the hall. The elderly man nearly ran himself right over the rail but Huai’ans quick hands scruffed his shirt collar and pulled him back to safety. There was absolute chaos in the hall as guests ran screaming as Huai’an frantically tried to redirect guests downstairs to the lower levels and away from the slightly infested upper floors of the Inn. The young woman from before made a reappearance and skidded to a stop a few feet away as another slime approached her from the front this time. Skirts clutched in her hands she screamed again and kicked the slime full force away from her, the brainless creature smacking Smiley square in the face.

“Not again!” Smiley thought as he batted the thing off of him and cursed up a storm at the taste of Hydro slime in his nose. Smiley swung the broom like a sword and swatted at the nearest slime clinging to the rafters Before long Xiao reappeared and with a fierce gust of wind and a green and black streak across the room faster than nearly perceptible, disbanded all the slippery monsters. The Adeptus didn't stay and promptly launched himself over the railing to chase after the remaining slimes in the Inn, a flash of anemo energy following him in after images.

“Smiley, are you alright?” Huai’an jogged over to him in the wake of the disaster.

“I’m all good, those things left a hell of a mess though,” Smiley responded, taking in the slimy watery trails and sticky spots stuck all around the hall from the disposed of slimes.

“They sure did. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you help the housekeepers take care of this mess? I'll make sure the food in the kitchen is put away.” Huai’an sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at Smiley.

“No problem boss man,” Smiley said with a salute.

“Careful now, don't let Verr catch you calling me that.” The man laughed and returned the salute as he quickly moved down the stairs to handle the damage control from the sudden slime infestation. Smiley sighed and rolled up his sleeves to get to work on scrubbing down the halls. It was definitely going to be a busy day. And busy it was. Smiley spent the remainder of the day and most of the night helping scrub away messes, chasing slimes out of the lobby and hallways, and desperately trying to keep up with the restaurant orders. Calls for his assistance were starting to get annoying with how run-ragged he was getting.

“Smiley! Would you be a dear and help me carry this?”

“Hey, Smiley did you get that shipment moved yet?”

“Smiley! Come give me a hand with this!”

“Smiley, Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Yanxiao sighed as he set down papers he was helping Huangshan sort through and made his way across the lobby to where Verr Goldet was standing with a visibly distressed Yuhua. The waitress was usually a very upbeat person and lively with everyone she interacted with, but would get rather skittish and flighty when upset and got overwhelmed easily. Smiley could recall many times he had sat her down away from a temperamental guest and spoke soft words to calm Yuhua down. The young woman now stood before Verr with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, tears budding at her eyelashes, and shifting nervously in place. Smiley had been running around all day assisting other staff members and trying to calm down guests while everyone tried to keep a handle on the sudden onslaught of Slimes that had decided to take up residence at Wangshu Inn. The slimy monsters were mostly harmless but they caused quite a bit of upset and could be dangerous if left alone or not dealt with. The boss had a gentle hand on Yuhua’s shoulder and was speaking softly to her.

“What’s up Boss?” Smiley attempted a reassuring smile at Yuhua, who only let out a concerning sob and hunched further into herself. Verr turned to him with a tired smile. Everyone was stretched thin at the moment.

“It looks like we might have a solution to our unwanted guests. But we have hit a bit of an obstacle it seems…” Yuhua sobbed harder at the boss’ words and Verr shushed her gently, rubbing her arm in a soothing manner. Smiley took up a place at her other side and rubbed her back as the young woman desperately tried to get control of her emotions. Once Yuhua was reduced to mere sniffles Verr spoke again.

“We got in contact with the Qixing in the harbor and an informant got in touch with a winery owner in Mondstat. Says he made a slime deterrent as well as a type of bait. The informant told Yuhua here that the winery owner would meet one of our staff at the border at Stonegate to get the deterrent, but the message of the meeting wasn’t passed on and-”

“I’m sorry! With how busy I have been today I forget to tell you till just now Boss!” Yuhua wailed, interrupting Verr.

“It's alright, it's alright! Everyone has been working so hard, I'm not mad at you Dear.” Verr hushed the waitress once again and wrapped both her arms around her fully this time.

“Anyway the meeting with the Mondstatdian is in 2 hours and we can't spare anyone else. You know the road to Stonegate well, can you hurry over there and get the deterrent for us, Smiley? I'll make sure you get a pretty penny in your pay for it.” Verr asked him as she continued to shush Yuhua. Smiley knew very well why the boss had asked him specifically. She knew his history in theft and that the road from Stone gate to the Inn used to be his old stomping grounds for petty theft and robbery. A pang of old seated guilt ran through him for trying to steal from this wonderfully kind woman, but that was ancient history now. Still with only two hours...he would really have to move to get there on time.

“Of course Boss! I'll leave right away.” Smiley bounded away to grab his coat and travel bag from his rooms.

“S-Safe travels!” Yuhua managed to get out.

“Be careful! There's still treasure hunters running around right now!” Smiley waved his hand behind him to show he heard her as he raced up the stairs to get going.

------

A jaw-cracking yawn tore through Smiley's face and he attempted and failed to hide it. It was nearing late afternoon and Smiley could feel the all-nighter he pulled and the mad sprint for the border weighing down on him as he exchanged payment with the red-haired Mondstatdian. He had just barely made it to Stonegate on time and met a stoic man named Diluc Ravigndr. The owner of the Dawn Winery wasn't much for idle conversation and that was all fine in Smiley’s book as he wasn't one for it either and he was far too weary to try.

“That should do it. There's enough deterrent there to keep every slime from here to Fontaine away from your Inn. Be careful, a little goes a long way, so don't waste it.” The winery owner pointed at the bag in Smiley's hand with a bored look.

“Thank you again Mr. Ravingdr, this really has saved us!” Smiley tried not to butcher the name, even if he spoke the common tongue as most people in Liyue do, his accent was still present and Mondstats words and names were sometimes tricky to pronounce. But with the way the pyro vision wielder squinted, he had not succeeded.

“Just be safe on the road back.” The winery owner turned his back and walked steadily across the bridge leading back into Mondstat, coat swinging behind him.

Smiley made sure the bag was secure at his hip and turned to make his way back towards Wansguh Inn, he wasn't pressed for a deadline this time but he didn't dare dawdle, the poor staff was already running around like chickens with no heads trying to contain the mess, so he kept his pace as brisk as his tired legs would allow. Smiley winced and tucked his coat tighter around him as he walked. A sharp brisk breeze ripped through the hills and Smiley shivered as it blew through his bones. It was far too cold for Liyuen weather, which stayed sunny and warm all year round. But now the skies were overcast gray, the cloud heavy with the threat of rain. Smiley wondered if it was cold enough to snow, which was a truly rare sight in Liyue. As he crossed BIshui plain into Dihua marsh, the mud beneath his feet was stiff with the cold, promising a frost in the morning. He was still nearly two miles from Wangshu Inn when it happened.

Cause Smiley's Karma was absolute garbage apparently.

“Well if it isn't Yanxiao!” Smiley seized as the cold bite of sharp metal rested against his throat and a slimy voice spoke in his ear.

“The silver tribe would pay a handsome sum for your bounty.” A short blonde man revealed himself from the bushes, a cloth over his nose and mouth, leather straps across his torso.

“Must be our lucky day then! Catching you wandering around here!” More men exposed themselves from hiding behind rocks, through bushes, hidden in treetops. All of them with snide looks and raven patterned insignias on their clothes.

Treasure Hoarders.

How in the hell had they snuck up on him? Smiley must have been more tired than he thought to zone out hard enough for these ingrates to get the jump on him. Smiley said nothing, the knife at his gullet a firm reminder that pissing them off too much could lead to a very quick end.

“What? Nothing to say?” The voice in his ear breathed hotly, the blade pressing harder till a single line of blood welled and fell down his neck in a slow rivulet.

“Easy Yangzhou we need him alive to get that bounty.” Another one from his left spoke up. Yangzhou huffed and let the knife off his throat, but his hands were quick to flash down his arms and string them together with a length of sturdy rope, preventing him from pushing the treasure hoarder off.

“Alive yes, but who says we can't take a few pieces off first?” the tallest and broadest of the bunch promptly swatted the back of Yangzhou’s head, eliciting a grunt from the short man.

“Quit being a smartass! Let’s take this piece of meat back to camp.” A rough shove to Smiley’s shoulder urged him forward, off the beaten path. He was manhandled through the brush and down a winding steep path, before slogging through a swampy expanse of the marsh. Smiley had to almost run to keep up in the mud and the treasure hoarders were not kind to him falling behind. They eventually came to a widespread camp in the middle of some long ancient forgotten ruins, dozens of other treasure hoarders had set up there and perked up, on their arrival. Those that recognized Smiley’s visage cheered and hollered at their companions for a good score. Those that didn't recognize him merely exchanged uncomfortable looks and went about their business. Treasure hoarders rarely dealt in human goods and many thought it a bad omen to trade lives. There is honor amongst thieves but not much. So while some may not agree with bartering a human life they wouldn't get involved or speak up about it. Best to stay out of the way with your head down then do something that will make you a target. They manhandled Smiley (a feat that took more than three treasure hoarders, to Smiley’s immense pride) into a small wooden cage. Wooden but sturdy and not easily broken out of, and clasped it shut with a strong silver lock. A lithe treasure hoarder with a purple coat and electro dust capsules hanging off his hip was posted as a guard right by the cage. They made right sure that Smiley was not going anywhere.

“You bastards! Let me out!” Smiley pounded on the cage with his feet, hands still tied behind his back.

“Scream all you want! Nobody is gonna come to help you.” The guard by his cage snickered at his distress. Panic started setting in. These lowlifes would not do much more than rough him up a bit, which he could handle, but the silver tribe of treasure hoarders...Smiley had gotten on their leaders' bad side years ago when stealing a prized piece of his collection and selling it off for booze. The chief of the silver tribe had gone on a rampage looking for him and the only reason he wasn't caught was that the Qixing caught him stealing from the Inn and after locking him up for a few weeks, Verr had offered him a job. If the silver tribe got their hands on him Smiley would not live to see the next sunrise.

“HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!” Smiley screamed out his lungs in his panic and threw his whole body against the side of his wooden cell. The treasure hunter laughed at his rapid attempts to free himself.

“Try all ya like! That reinforced cipher wood.” The treasure hunter stopped laughing when Smiley threw himself back once more and managed to topple the cage right over and went spinning onto the ground. The damn thing didn’t break but it caused quite a stir when his imprisonment tumbled right into the middle of a circle of hoarders that were swapping food. He was set back up where he was, this time with a gag around his mouth and his feet tied together as well as his cell tethered to two trees to keep him firmly in place. Smiley kicked himself around for another hour before finally tiring out and giving in to slump against the back of the cage. The hopelessness of his situation was settling in. The Inn staff would question why he isn't back yet, but they were already spread so thin trying to keep the monsters away and the slimes under control. For all the talk of these hoarders, they hadn't even taken his bag off his person, not that slime deterrent would do him any good in this situation, not that he could even reach it. But nobody would be coming to rescue him here. He was on his own in getting out of this, and a feat that would be with how strapped down and guarded he was. It was late afternoon, if he could wait till nightfall, maybe he could wiggle out of his binds, but getting out of his cage and out of the camp unnoticed was another matter entirely. If he had a weapon or something. From what little he had overheard while laying in his cage, the treasure hoarders planned to transport him to the Silver Tribe tomorrow at first light. His best hope was that the Inn would send someone with a weapon who knew how to use come after him or he could try and make a break for it when they were moving him tomorrow, whichever came first. Smiley refused to sleep in such dangerous circumstances so he settled down against the back of the cell and kept his eyes on any who walked by him, and that's how he stayed. Tired and filthy and on high alert for the next several hours, till the sun had fully set.

The treasure hoarders slowly began to withdraw for the evening, taking refuge from the cold chill of the night into their tents. Only a few were left to stand guard around the camps perimeter before long as well as his own personal guard who was currently snoring on his rifle barrel propped against the ground. Hours passed and eventually only two other guards remained on watch at the main entrance to the camp, chatting quietly. Neither they nor his personal guard noticed when an unnatural still settled over the ruins. Smiley perked up as the woodland creatures all fell silent and the breeze ceased to blow against his face. He squinted into the shadowy trees bordering the encampment, looking for what was out of place. A devastating atmosphere filled through the gaps and tents, making Smiley shiver and hunch further into himself. Something was coming, and it didn't seem very friendly, the foreboding feeling whispering through the area. The treasure hoarders seemed none the wiser, still snoozing or chatting away. A small wisp of anemo energy was his only warning as a sudden bright burst of green wreathed with shadows rushed through the front of the encampment taking the two guards flying off with it, their shouts of surprise muffled with distance as they were whisked away at high speeds. The slight disruption alerted the electro guard at his right who awoke with a snort and blinked sleepily while wiping the drool from his chin. He rubbed his eyes and gazed over to where the other two hoarders had stood previously.

“What the-uagghhhh!” He was cut off from speaking as another bright burst of wind erupted under his feet and carried him off into the air, flinging him into the distance. A few moments passed where Smiley hardly dared to breathe. Before he could tear harshly at his bindings to try and get free, a shape caught his attention in the trees. Quick as a flash, a green and black shape whirled quietly through the trees, surrounded by an ethereal light, scattering particles of anemo behind it and nimbly navigated through the tents in rapid strokes, bypassing any obstacles easily. The otherworldly energy seeped through the camp and whispered through the trees, giving a slight chill to the already nippy air. An elemental? Was this the spirit of death coming to take him itself? He didn't need to question it anymore as the moderately sized ball of energy manifested in front of him and dissipated to reveal none other than the Guardian Yaksha himself, landing lightly in front of Smiley, hair still fraying in the breeze.

“XHIOW!” He called to the Adeptus with the gag keeping him from annunciating.

“Shhhh!” Index finger at his lips, the Yaksha shushed him harshly, a fierce look appeared on his face without his mask. A slice of his hand and a blur of elemental energy and the lock was gone, nimble gloved fingers opening the makeshift door and doing the same to the ropes on his wrists and ankles, and the gag was ripped from his mouth.

“Stay quiet, and follow me, quickly! There isn't much time till they gather themselves and come back here.” Xiao spoke softly and quickly, grabbing Smiley’s arms and hauling him up. A quick look to make sure they were clear and then they were sprinting away into the dark trees. Xiao stayed light on his feet and outpaced Smiley easily but luckily didn't go out of his sight and stayed near his side, quickly ducking and weaving through the trees and brush like he could see where everything was clear as day...maybe he could, Smiley didn't know what strange abilities Adepti had. Smiley tried to keep his steps light and quiet, a feat harder than he thought as twigs snapped and leaves rustled under his quick steps, whereas Xiao's boots remained soundless and airy on the ground beneath him, nothing more than a dark anemo shadow blurring through the trees. They cleared through the trees and hopped over sand bars, SMileys feet splashing loudly and Xiaos hardly causing a ripple through the waters. And then out into the open fields of the marsh and over through the grasses. The Adeptus eventually skidded silently to a stop by a statue of Rex Lapis, hardly winded. SMiley bent over hands on his knees breathing heavily, nearly falling over from the exertion of an already exhausted body and then a mad sprint for freedom. After a few moments, he managed to not quite catch his breath but was able to stand up straight and wipe the sweat off his forehead. Once straightened he wobbles on his feet and his vision blurred and darkened at the edges, exhaustion and a whole day trapped in a small cage hitting him hard. He spit out a half coherent sentence as he stumbled forward, headed for a painful meeting with the dirt. A harsh cold blast of wind steadied him back on his feet and nearly ass over tea kettle in the opposite direction and whipped his hair up off his face.

“Be careful.”

“Thank you, Xiao.” Smiley rubbed his temples, his face cool from the onslaught of air that the Adeptus had blasted in his face to wake him up. Xiao hummed and squinted his eyes at Smiley’s arms crossing across his chest.

“Let’s keep moving,” Xiao said as he turned and started walking moderately down the path leading towards Wangshu that stuck out in the distance. Smiley sighed and followed after him, legs feeling like jelly as a heavy fog settled over his eyes and fuzzed in his head, the adrenaline wearing off and making Smiley want nothing more than to pass out. Xiao’s long sleeve and pants tails swayed behind him, the sharp V cut of his shirt exposing two long jagged scars on his right where his shoulder blades crested, old and healed over with time. Smiley briefly wondered where he got them. An awkward silence settled over the two as Smiley followed behind the Yaksha, filling the air with a heavy tension that Smiley grew increasingly uncomfortable with. Smiley had never really talked with Xiao. Few people had, he kept to himself and wasn't known for being fond of humans. Seeing as it was still quite a trek back to the Inn and Xiao didn't seem to have any plans on leaving him to his own devices through it, Smiley decided to try at conversation.

"Sorry about yesterday. When I grabbed you." Xiao did not respond right away, only eyed him over his shoulder slightly and turned back to the road ahead.

"....Think nothing of it." The Adeptus replied distantly, his voice soft and even. Did that mean Smiley was forgiven? Did that mean Xiao didn't care? The gauge answer gave him vague results and hardly did anything towards holding a conversation.

"Why didn't you fight those treasure hoarders?" Smiley scrambled for another topic. But in hindsight, it was a valid question. Xiao was obviously a powerful thing and some morals with shovels and elemental powder bombs wouldn't have been any challenge for him, so Smiley assumed. The Adeoti had protected Liyue from threats of beings far more powerful than petals for centuries and Xiao was one of them after all.

"Why did they want to sell you off?" Xiao retorted smoothly. Well, he had Smiley there.

"Back in the day, I was your common run-of-the-mill thief. Accidentally got on some big shot treasure hoarders’ bad side. Think they wanted to trade me for profit cause of that." He replied honestly, there was no use hiding it and although he wasn't proud of his past actions, Smiley knew he was a different person now. His answer though had the Yaksha halting and turning towards him fully. The look in his sharp eyes wasn't judgmental per day, but rather cautiously intrigued.

"You were a thief?" He asked, his voice not betraying his thoughts in that fact.

"Well yeah. I ain't proud of it if that's what you're getting at." Smiley crossed his arms and resumed walking. This time with Xiao trailing behind him instead of the other way around.

"You were a thief. So you aren't anymore…" Xiao's brow furrowed in confusion, a slender hand coming to rest at his chin in thought. Like this, he truly looked like a child that just learned something new and had to re-evaluate how he viewed the world.

"Well yeah. I tried to steal from the Inn and I got caught. The boss offered me a job instead of letting me rot in prison. And I decided that what I was doin, making my way through life stealing and only thinking of myself, I didn't want to be that kinda person anymore. So I changed." Smiley explained a nostalgic tone in his voice. a discontented hum from the Adeptus was his only response.

"I guess that's the difference between humans and demons. We're capable of change." That got Xiao to look at him, face impassive but honey-colored eyes swimming with a carefully concealed emotion that Smiley couldn't put a name to.

"Alright. And answer for an answer. Your turn." Smiley nudged Xiao's arm with his elbow, the other flinch in back, his features twisting into annoyance, while Smiley merely grinned like the cat that got the canary. It took a moment but Xiao eventually replied.

"I don't harm humans. My contract with Rex Lapis is to protect Liyue from the poisonous spirits that threaten it."

"Hmmm...The Lord of Geo has passed though. So shouldn't your contract be void? Why do you still fight to protect us? Not that you'll hear little ol’ me complainin! You sure saved my hide today." Smiley asked.

"I am not human, I'm not capable of change like you." Was the cold tone answer he received from Xiao, something dark entering his gaze.

"Well, why wouldn't you be?" Smiley countered. That question once again halted the Adeptus in his tracks, he didn't seem to have an answer to it either as his eyes wandered downwards to his boots as he walked. They were needing the Inn now and Smiley didn't realize they had resumed walking till the hardened dirt beneath their feet gave way to the sturdy wood of a bridge.

"From what I heard, the Adepti and the Qixing managed to settle their differences with each other...that means the Adepti have changed over the years from what things were like before." Smiley's earlier question still hung around their heads and Smiley repeated it, trying to catch the Yakshas gaze.

"Why wouldn't you be capable of change?" Xiao still didn't respond. The small guardian looked younger than Smiley had ever seen him then, lost and confused by such a big question and obviously without answers.

"I...don't know. " Xiao admitted honestly. Smiley stared at Xiao for a long silent moment as they both stopped halted at the foot of the stairs of Wangshu. Xiao truly fascinated him at that moment in time. He was thousands of years older than him but here he looked like any other kid, fearful of a future he didn't understand, and far more human than Smiley ever thought he could look. The chef smiled and reached out a hand to roughly tussle the dark turquoise and teal hair of the shorter, eliciting annoyed noise and icy glare that could freeze even the warmest Liyue weather from him.

"I'm sure you'll find your answer soon enough. Thanks again for coming after me! I'll make sure there's a healthy portion of Almond Tofu made up for your efforts." Smiley bowed slightly before heading up the stairs with Xiao staring after him and flatten in his messy hair back down.

------

The next morning Smiley found himself back down in the kitchen, this time entirely slime-free. Huai'an had met him at the Inn entrance the other night and after exploring what happened had offered him the day off to rest after such an exciting excursion but Smiley refused and they immediately went to work setting out the deterrent throughout the Inn. The slimes took notice rather quickly and vacated the premises, fat squishy bodies hopping and wriggling quickly out of hiding places and as far as they could from the foul-smelling deterrent. The Dawn Winery owner had said the substance smelled horrid to slimes, which dumbfounded Smiley as the creatures were lacking in the nose department. But it didn't smell of anything to him but a faint floral scent he didn't recognize, probably from a flower native to Mondstat. After an hour of wiping down door frames and baseboards Smiley had finally been able to face plant into bed and the next morning he was awake, albeit a little later than usual, and cooking up almond tofu, this time with a sweet drizzle of honey and caramelized sugar crystals to make it special.

"Smiley? Do you need any help down here?" Yuhua popped her head over the railing and called down to him. Sweet girl.

"It's alright Yuhua! I'm just about done with this order anyhow but if you could watch the stove for a second? I have to deliver this." He replied back to the young waitress.

"Oh! If you need me to take an order to a guest I'd be happy to." Yuhua moved down the steps on light feet and met him at the bottom, eager to fulfill her role as a server.

"It's okay. This one is a bit special but thank you." Smiley held up the plate to show her the dish he had prepared and Yuhua's eyes shone in understanding. She smiled and nodded at him, moving to watch the stove and see that nothing burned.

"Say hi for me!" She called as he ascended the stairs and called back that he would. Smiley had to hold the dish high to prevent a tragedy at the hands of some passing children chasing after Richie, the Inn resident dog. Smiley hopped up the stairs to the uppermost balcony and paused to breathe in the fresh cold air. Maybe he should have brought his coat, it wasn't too cold yet to be uncomfortable but goosebumps still raised in his arms.

"Xiao? You there?" He called into the wind as he stepped further onto the balcony. A soft clatter from behind him had him turning to see the Yaksha clamoring down from the uppermost roof gracefully. Smiley handed off the plate as Xiao passed and sat himself up on the railing, having time jump a little due to his short stature.

"Tell me how it tastes. I tried something a little different this time!" Smiley said as he leaned forward, elbows braced against the railing. Xiao brought the spoon to his mouth, blinking at the soft texture.

“It's sweeter….It’s good.” He mumbled around the spoon and took another bite.

“You like it? I tried something different this time by not grinding the sugar as fine so it was a larger crystal and…” Smiley continued on explaining his process and the many ways you can cook and grind sweet flowers into sugar. Xiao did not respond, still absorbed in his dessert but hummed and nodded to show he was listening when prompted, the afternoon ticking away as Smiley idly chatted away and Xiao listened, only the breeze to keep them company up on the high balcony of Wangshu Inn.

Chapter Text

A flurry of white fluffy snowflakes rushed through the boardwalk at the bottom of Wangshu Inn, sweeping through Yuhua's short brown hair and causing her to tuck her arms around herself and brace against the sudden wind. She had woken up that morning to frost creeping up her window in intricate designs and a thin layer of snow blanketing the Inn and the lands around it. It has been a long time since she had to exchange her flat, work slippers for warmer boots, and wear tights underneath her server's dress. A week had passed since the Slime Situation and although the monsters had started to back off as it got colder, that was the least of the staff's worries as the sudden onslaught of snow had caught them all off guard. Liyue had not seen snow in many years and even in the coldest months of winter it would at most just rain and frost in the mornings, burning off by the warm sun in the afternoon. The sun was nowhere to be seen today however and a cold gray atmosphere had taken over the region with bitter winds and fat fluffy flakes falling from the sky. A storm was on the rise and it had everyone scrambling to prepare for the harsher weather. Most of the long term guests had retreated to their rooms and those that were only staying for a short time had mostly left the Inn to seek a more permanent shelter or make it to their destinations before the snow became too thick for travel as it wasn't showing any signs of slowing down. Smiley Yanxiao had been in an awful fuss tucking away things in the kitchen and trying to get Wei, the cat that usually resides on the front desk, to stay out of his tea closet, which was tucked warmly in the back of the kitchen. Since the cafe had been closed for the remainder of the week, Yuhua was set to work helping put up torches around the lower levels of the Inn and around the entrance to help keep everyone warm, Smiley helping her. They had been working tirelessly through the cold frozen expanse at the bottom of the Inn for some time now, carefully setting up torches with long lengths of wood and lighting them up to help stave off the chill. Up above their heads, resting on one of the outcroppings was Xiao, eyes distant and scanning out across the marsh and the plains to either side, a light dusting of snow settling on his shoulders. Yuhua hummed contemplatively as she held up the spiral of wooden poles while Smiley tied them together, thinking about the Adeptus.

"He looks like a bird at his perch."

"Okay, you can let go now," Smiley said as he balanced the stone plate atop the wood.

"What do you think he's looking for?" Yuhua asked, eyes still on the Yaksha as her hand moved deftly to place kindling and twigs on the newly built torch plate.

"Who, Xiao?" Smiley asked as he coated the sticks in lantern oil.

"Probably monsters or demons is my guess." He replied to his question after a moment's consideration.

"Didn’t the Adepti's contracts with Rex Lapis to protect humanity end with the whole ordeal with Osial?" Yuhua asked as she struck a match, carefully lighting the pile of debris to bring the torch to life.

"From what the ministry of affairs from the Qixing told us, yes they did." Smiley commented back, not entirely paying attention as he started to lift the wooden poles to move to the next spot to put the next torch.

"Why do you think he’s still fighting? Still, protecting us? Not that I am wishing he wasn't!" Truthfully this wasn't the first time Yuhua thought about it. Out of all the Adepti Xiao was one of the most interesting to her. Although everyone working at the Inn, and even their regular and long-time guests knew who Xiao was, nobody outside of that circle (excluding the Qixing) seemed to know anything about the Adeptus. Yuhua had asked a bystander in the harbor once when she was visiting her twin sister, and they had no idea there was such a thing as "A guardian Yaksha". There were written texts about the Yakshas but very little seemed to even know they ever existed. Most didn't know the Adepti by name but knew of their titles at least, Xiao seemed to be lost to history though in the eyes of Liyue Harbor. Anyone could tell from a glance that Xiao wasn't human, his eyes too bright to be natural for one example. And she had never really seen Xiao with anybody she could label a friend outside of Inn staff. Fighting demons day in and day out, seemed like a very lonely job, and not one he even was obligated to continue doing.

"I just figured someone as distant as he is would have been happy to be free from those duties."

"I don't know if he even knows the answer to that one. I think he has a lot to think about now that Rex Lapis is gone. We all do really. Times are changing for everyone." Smiley replied as they reached their destination for the next torch, just next to the stairs that left up to the upper levels. That was also true. Everyone was still fumbling and learning to live in a world where Liyue had no Archon gazing down on it. They seemed to be adjusting fairly well all things considered. Yuhua opened her lips to reply when another fierce gust ripped her hair off her face and nearly took her coat with it. It did, however, take the shawl off a passing child, little Tia’s, shoulders and swept it up to snag on the uppermost tiles of the overhang that shrouded the elevator entrance. The little girl shivered violently and Smiley quickly set down what he was carrying to rush over to her and offered up his own heavy coat. Yuhua set down the stone plates in her arms and jogged over to the both of them just as little Tia was begging Smiley to get her shawl down from the rafters, obvious distress on her youthful face.

"That's my Mommys shawl! Please get it back for me Mr. Yanxiao!" Tia choked herself on a sob as the sous chef tried to calm her down with a soft rub on the shoulder. Yuhua looked over towards the elevator where the shawl had snagged. It wasn't very high up, she had climbed higher with her sister as children to pick sunsettias on Mt. Tianheng. She smiled and crouched closer to Tia's height, the little girl sniffling.

"I'll get it back for you, don't worry." Tia looked up and held her gaze with a watery one of her own. The little girl nodded and wiped her nose on her arm. Yuhua stood up and jogged over to the elevator, fully intending to climb on top of it and rescue the garment. Yuhua wasn't the best climber, not like the travelers who she'd seen scale entire buildings. But she and her sister had their fair share of tree climbing adventures when they were children and the muscle memory stuck with her on how to easily clamber up the wooden structure. Once she was near enough to the top she dug her foot into a small crevice and wrapped one arm around a wooden beam to keep her balance. Making sure her grip was firm, she reached out and barely brushed her fingertips along the caught fabric. She was too far to fully grasp it, so Yuhua adjusted herself and shifted her foot further along the crevice till she could wrap her hands in the shawl and gently tug it free from its prison. Yuhua grinned and turned to wave down at Smiley and Tia.

"Good job kiddo! Come on down now!" Smiley cupped his hands to shout up at her. Yuhua held the shawl close as she carefully shifted her free hand to start climbing down. Yuhua sucked in a sharp gasp when a splintering creak erupted from the wood beneath her feet. Looking down she saw the beam she was standing on had cracked and was groaning under her weight. Fear crept through her limbs as she frantically twisted her body to get herself to a more stable beam so she wouldn't fall. Her hands felt cold and her legs were suddenly heavy as slight panic began to take hold of her. She moved too fast, too far to the right and the wet squelch of her shoe slipping from the wood startled her as her hand flew from the overhang and she fell. Gravity did funny things to her stomach and terror whipped through her lightning-fast. She barely had time to scream as her body fell like a stone through the air. She distantly heard Smiley shout her name and Tia's distressed scream but a mantra of "No no no no no!" Scrambled up her thoughts. For a single heart-stopping moment, everything froze and time itself seemed to hold its breath.

And then it all sped up.

Yuhua cried out as the wind rushed around her and she made impact with what was very obviously not the ground. Strong arms wrapped around her as their owner grunted at the sudden weight and force from her inertia. Gravity took both her and her rescuer down into a somersault that ended with Yuhua awkwardly held tight against them bridal style. Her whole body tensed, holding herself as still as a statue for a few heartbeats before reality sunk in. She could see the snow falling around them. She could feel the even breathing of the person holding her. She was safe. She was okay. Yuhua seized a great breath into her lungs. Relief made her dizzy as she processed that she was unharmed and had more than likely just escaped death by going splat on the boardwalk. All her muscles were untensed at once and tears clouded her vision immediately. The person who caught her stood slowly from their crouched position and bounced her a bit to keep a hold on her. Yuhua finally looked up to meet strong golden eyes with diamond pupils and all at once her muscles tensed up again. Xiao blinked at her as her eyes went wide.

"Yuhua!" Smiley had reached them from his mad dash from across the boardwalk, worry etched into every line of his posture. Little Tia was right on his heels, frightened tears pouring down her face. Xiao kneeled slowly and set her down on the ground, lithe hands slipping away fast, like touching her hurt. Smiley fussed over her, asking and looking for injuries. Yuhua tried to wipe her tears and brushed her hands through her short brown hair. She turned to look over Xiao and he held her gaze for a moment, eyebrows pinching together crossed his arms, and assumed a closed-off stance. The Yaksha looked incredibly uncomfortable and Yuhua felt her stomach churn at his chilly response. When Smiley was finally satisfied that she was shaken but not hurt, he turned to Xiao.

"Xiao-" Smiley wasn't able to get another word out as the Adeptus abruptly turned on his heel and vanished in a burst of shadows. Smiley sighed and turned around to face Yuhua again, a stern glare in place. Oh no. There was a lecture coming on in that look. Yuhua smiled sheepishly up at Smiley and the cook merely glared harder. The staring contest only lasted a few seconds before Smiley sighed and knelt next to her, a heavy hand on her shoulder. His gaze softened when he opened his eyes.

"Next time, please let me handle the climbing okay?"

"Believe me I have no complaints about that." Yuhua laughed weakly, still fighting off distressed tears from the incident.

"I am just glad you are okay. Alright let's get you up, you think you can get back to work, or should we sit you inside to calm down a bit?" Smiley swung her arm over his shoulder and gripped her waist to heft her up to shaky feet.

"The second one please." Yuhua leaned heavily on the sous chef as they made their way to the elevator. Yuhua took even deep breathes, still processing the adrenaline rush from a near-death/severe injury experience. Yuhua didn't want to think would have happened if Xiao hadn't caught her-

Oh, archons! Xiao!

He had saved her. And she hadn't even said thank you! In all the stress she hadn't had the time to conjure her gratefulness before the serious Adeptus had left. Yuhua hummed and shifted to tap Smiley on the arm to get his attention.

"Hm? What's up kiddo?" He adjusted her so she was more comfortable as he spoke.

"Smiley, can you tell me what Xiao likes? I'd like to get him something to say thank you." Smiley hummed in thought at her question, moving to step out of the elevator now that it had reached the top floor.

"Well, Xiao isn't one for interaction. He likes Almond Tofu, and high places I guess? I've hardly ever seen him on the ground, he sticks to the rooftops. Other than that I'm not sure. I don't know enough about him to give you a better answer, sorry." Smiley said, pursing his lips as he did.

"There must be something he likes other than almond tofu. I feel like that's not enough to express how thankful I am. I could very well not be alive right now." Smiley winced at her choice of words.

"Don't remind me! I was scared enough as is at that moment!" The man scolded her softly, setting her down on the bench by the front desk.

Smiley put his hand on his chin in thought. "I suppose you could always ask him, but Xiao is pretty skittish. Getting an answer from him or hell even an appearance wouldn't be easy. He'll sometimes stick around if I feed him or if the boss brings up monster activity in the marsh but small chat ain't his thing."

"That's fine! It doesn't have to be super fancy, I just want him to know I appreciate him saving me. I'm sure there's something he would like!" Yuhua smiled and held her fists up to her chest, determined. Smiley chuckled and pinched her cheek, making her whine and swat at his hands.

"Good luck with that, you'll need it. Now stay put, I'll make you some tea." And with that, he released her face and walked down towards the kitchens. Yuhua frowned and rubbed her cheek. Smiley could doubt her all he wanted but Yuhua had made up her mind. Xiao had saved her life! He deserved a proper thank you, no matter how anti-social he wanted to be. And Yuhua was gonna give him one. Besides Xiao lived here, it couldn't be that hard to find something he was interested in, to gift to him.

-------

"Uggghhhhhhh!" Yuhua sighed and puffed her cheeks in frustration, slumping into a chair in her room. Talking to Xiao turned out to be an even more arduous task than she had first thought. The Adeptus was even more distant and closed off than Yuhua had ever seen. Not that she had seen much of him in the first place. She had tried to approach him outright but he had merely shot her an annoyed glance before vanishing over the other side of the roof. And the second time she hadn't even made it out onto the balcony before he was gone like a fleeting wind. She had even tried Almond Tofu, but seemingly onto her schemes he had refused to show himself. Yuhua eventually fell asleep on the highest balcony and woke up to the plate empty and no Yaksha in sight. Once he had even snatched the plate from her hands and disappeared before she could utter more than a surprised yelp at having been snuck upon. The boss had said Xiao was pretty solitary and probably wouldn't talk to her unless she had something important that was relevant to him to say. Yuhua pouted at her dilemma. If she could just get his attention for a few minutes! But Xiao was as skittish as a cat and had taken to hiding away at the sight of her at this point.

Yuhua refused to give up on him though. If he wouldn't be lured out then she would face things head-on. With a plan in mind, she nodded her head and stood up. She would talk to him today. Whether he liked it or not. If Yuhua had to disgrace her people's culture and hold him down by his hair she would. And of the Qixing had her arrested for assaulting an Adepti so be it! Anxiety gnawed at her stomach and her eyes burned with unshed tears but Yuhua ignored it and kept her head high. This was no time to be overwhelmed. The confrontation was scary but showing respect and gratitude where it was due was more important. Yuhua didn't have any Tofu this time. She was only armed with a thick coat to ward off the snow that had become exponentially heavier in that last week since she had been playing tag with a grumpy Yaksha. She ascended the stairs to Xiao's balcony and went over to the railing. Yuhua took a moment to admire the snow-covered landscape and sighed into the cold afternoon air. The last time she had seen snow blanketed Liyue was when she was a small child. She and her sister had stared at the falling flakes for an hour under the awning of their front stoop before their mother called them in for dinner. Back then the snow had been light and not heavy enough to stick to the busy streets of Feiyun slope but watching it fall had been magical to two little girls. The gray skies had been growing more turbulent by the day and a storm was fast approaching, but for now, it was quiet and serene. She didn't come here to stare at the scenery though. Yuhua turned around and let her expression fall into a determined pout. Yuhua breathed in deep, getting as much oxygen as she could hold in her lungs, and mentally prepared herself before realizing it out loud as she could.

"XIAOOOOOOOO!" she screamed as loud as she could without damaging her throat. She heard surprised shuffling from the floor below her and someone shouting at her to keep it down. But that wouldn't deter her.

"ADEPTUS XIAAAAOOOOOOOOO!" She called out again, her face red from the cold and the exertion of her voice. Huangshan briefly peeked around the corner, raising a brow at her odd behavior. Yuhua sucked in air and prepared to scream again but stopped when a short figure extracted itself from the shadows. The guardian Yaksha glared at her and crossed his arms.

"Xiao! If you please give me a few minutes of your time I promise I won't bother you again!" Yuhua rushed out, holding her hands in front of her prayer style. Xiao squinted at her as if sizing her up, before dropping his arms and striding over to the railing, stopping a good distance away from her.

"Avoiding you is becoming tiresome. What do you want?" Straight to business then. Smiley wasn't kidding when he said Xiao wasn't one for small talk.

"I wanted to thank you. You really saved me the other day and I wanted to express my deepest gratitude." Yuhua fell into a short bow and Xiao shifted uncomfortably next to her.

"If that's all then think nothing of it." And with that, he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Yuhua surged up and seized his forearm, holding on tight to keep him there. The Yaksha went eerily still and sneered at her, making Yuhua sweat and babble nervously.

"Words really aren't enough to express how grateful I am and I wanted to get you something but I didn't know what! All I really know about you is that you like Almond tofu, I mean that's all anyone really knows so I wanted to ask you what you would like!" Yuhua tensed up and released his arm, taking a step back after an anxious tirade.

"...there is nothing that I require from you." He finally spoke.

"It's not about what you need from me, it's what you want. You did something nice for me, and I want to return that favor." Yuhua held a hand to her breast as she spoke.

"Tch, ridiculous." Xiao scoffed and crossed his arms.

Yuhua felt defensive irritation slice through her, her lips pulling into a frown. "It’s not ridiculous, it's important to me."

"Human emotions are baffling to me. I don't see why you are so insistent on this when you have already said your peace." Xiao didn't move when he said that but if Yuhua had that feeling in her gut that he was turning his nose up at her subtly. Tears burned in her eyes as Yuhua scowled at him and clenched her fists, feeling defensive. He was being so rude! She only wanted to do something nice for him, why was he being so difficult?

"Human emotions are baffling to me…"

Her anger faded quickly. Yuhua took a deep breath and reminded herself that Xiao wasn't human, and based on her observations hardly ever interacted with them in any sort of long-term sense. Behind the curt replies and stoic demeanor maybe he really just didn't understand where she was coming from. Yuhua stepped closer to him, making him tense and look over at her. She wanted to catch his gaze for what she was about to say.

"You saved my life, Xiao. I know Adepti are probably made of tougher stuff but humans are fragile ya know-" Yuhua explained.

"You don't need to remind me of the fragility of mortals." He cut her off. Yuhua breathed in deep again to keep her temper at bay.

"If you hadn't caught me that day I very well could have lost my life, or my ability to walk and care for myself. And that's just as bad! I am still able to see my sister and spend time with the people I care about. I can still enjoy life to the best of my ability and for that, I am truly thankful. It might not be much to you but it means a lot to me. You made sure I didn't have to face that uncertainty of death or severe injuries and I want to do something nice for you. Because it's a nice thing to do. So please Adeptus Xiao, just this once humor me." Yuhua clasped her hand together again and bowed. After a moment Yuhua raised her head to look him in the eye. A flicker of emotion was there, something like understanding but it was gone as fast as it appeared. Xiao continued to stare at her and she stared right back, refusing to buckle under his intense gaze. This went on for several moments before Xiao turned his head, ears straining soft pink.

"...fine." He finally said. Yuhua let out a small little cheer and tapped her feet in rapid succession.

"Great! Now tell me what are your interests? Hobbies? Anything I can use!" Yuhua grinned and tried to contain her excitement.

"Hobbies?" Xiao looked incredulous at the thought.

"Yeah, what do you like to do in your free time?" Yuhua clarified.

"...free time?" Xiao raised an elegant brow at her.

Maybe this wouldn't be as straightforward as usual.

"Well yeah! What do you like to do when you aren't skating demons and monsters in the marsh?" She asked.

"I stand guard and watch over the land." He said, eyes drifting to the horizon.

"You don't do anything else?"

"...no."

Yuhua felt like bashing her head against a wall. This really wouldn't be easy.

"Okay well...have you ever tried anything outside of your usual routine?" She asked a finger to her chin in thought. Xiao seemed like someone who didn't stray far from their routine unless necessary.

"....no. What would I even do? I am a Yaksha, a guardian spirit. My job is to protect. Anything else is irrelevant and a waste of my time." There was an edge in his tone, something that almost sounded like hopelessness but not quiet. If Yuhua was learning anything about the Adeptus it's that he experienced emotions quietly and it was very hard to read what those were because of his reserved demeanor.

"Hm. Well, how about I help you find something! We can try some new things and see if you enjoy any of it!" This was quickly going from "Get Xiao a gift" to "Help Xiao discover something new". But Yuhua honestly didn't mind. Despite his prickly nature the Yaksha was starting to grow on her.

"That sounds like a waste of time." Xiao deadpanned.

"It’s not a waste of time if you are having fun! Now, where should we start?"

"I haven't agreed to this plan of yours."

"Hush, I'm thinking." Yuhua waved off the indignant Yaksha, who let out an angry huff and was glaring at her, if the way her neck pricked was any indication, and focused hard. What could they do that Xiao might enjoy? Hmmm. Shrieks of laughter caught her attention and Yuhua's gaze drifted to the sound slowly. Down below them at the base of the Inn where it met Dihua marsh was a group of children, including little Tia, laughing and playing in the snow. Snowball fights were a rare treat and that was perfect! What better place to start than an all-out snowball fight?

"Perfect! Let's go play in the snow! Come on!" Yuhua grabbed the Yaksha's hand, eliciting an annoyed "Hey!" from him as she ran off with him in tow. She ended up half dragging half guiding him down the stairs to the group of kids. Xiao spotted the children and dug his heels into the wood of the deck and Yuhua glared at him and had to practically yank him along out into the snowy clearing.

"Hey, guys!" Yuhua called out to the children as she skidded over to them with a disgruntled Adeptus at her heels. Once she had stopped, Xiao ripped his hand from hers and sent a sharp gaze her way. Yuhua ignored him in favor of saying hello to the kids. Three little ones stood before her. Tia happily greeted her and the two boys next to her did as well with less enthusiasm. One shyly hiding behind Tia.

"Miss Yuhua! Have you come to play with us? Oh, these are my brothers! This is Huizhong…" she gestured to the eldest of the children, a rowdy-looking boy who grinned at her with a missing front tooth.

“I'm 12!” Huizhogn proclaimed proudly.

“No, you're not! Don't lie!” Tia huffed at her brother and shook her head sassily.

"Anyway, this is my younger brother Jianyu!" The younger one waved up at her nervously. Both shared Tia's auburn hair and brown eyes.

"Hello! We were hoping we could join you guys out here for a bit." Yuhua crouched down to their height and smiled gently at the youngest when he backed away slightly.

"We?" Huizhong asked and turned to finally look at Xiao standing behind her. Jianyu's breath hitched and he hid behind Tia further, and Huizhong squinted suspiciously at the Adeptus. Tia didn't seem bothered in the slightest at the new guest.

"Is Mr. Xiao going to play with us too?" She asked, with an excited wiggle. Yuhua chuckled at her response and looked back to Xiao, tilting her head and gesturing for him to answer.

"I suppose…" Xiao replied after a moment, still very hesitant and Yuhua smiled sweetly at him, hoping her silent message of "Just shut up and say yes!" was clear in her eyes. Huizhong seemed to take that as an invitation as good as any and surged forward to grab onto Xiao's singular sleeve, causing him to bend slightly as the boy dragged him along towards a pile of snow that was resembling a shakily built wall.

"Great! You can be on my team! This is gonna be great!" Huizhong was either unaware of Xiao's illuminated status or didn't seem to care. Yuhua held in her giggles and stood up straight to help the other two with their own snow forts. Tia chatted aimlessly and formed little snowballs as she did while Yuhua and Jianyu stacked snow and packed it down on their makeshift fort. Yuhua would pitch in with the appropriate hums or responses when needed while Jianyu was happy to stay quiet and focus on his task. Yuhua looked across the small clearing to see how Xiao was fairing with Huizhong. The Yaksha was taking his job seriously, packing down snow under Huizhong's very boisterous instruction. Yuhua giggled in her gloves at the scene. Never had she thought she would see someone as distant and stoic as Xiao knee-deep in snow being bossed around by a 10-year-old. Once Tia had deemed their snow fort suitable she called for a meetup in the center of the clearing, between the two walls.

"Let's establish the rules!" She pronounced tiny hands on her hips and a proud smirk on her face.

"Boys versus girls!" Huizhong threw his hands in the air at his suggestion though it sounded more like a demand.

"That's not fair!" Tia stomped her foot.

"Yes, it is!" Huizhong countered.

"There's three of you. No, it's not!" Tia argued. As the two bickered with Jianyu helplessly trying to intervene, Yuhua sidled up to Xiao, catching his gesture of an inclined head towards her.

"Is this meant to be a battle?" He asked, a cautious tone in his voice.

"It's a snowball fight, Xiao, it's just for fun." Yuhua snickered through her explanation.

Jianyu appeared next to them and tentatively tugged at Xiao's pants. "Have you never had a snowball fight, Mister?"

Xiao turned to the small boy and shook his head. "You...fight each other for entertainment?" The Adeptus questioned warily.

"It's not like a serious fight! It's fun!" Yuhua chimed in.

"Do you know how to have a snowball fight? We can show ya!" Huizhong jumped excitedly in place, finally finished arguing with his sister.

"Yeah like this!" Tia punctuated her sentence with a snowball thrown right at Huizhongs face, making the child fall over on his bottom. The boy shrieked and brushed the snow from his face before kicking up more powder at Tia. The little girl shrieked and chaos erupted quickly as it became an all-out free for all. Whatever plans they had for teams were quickly forgotten as everyone dove for cover from flying snow. Yuhua laughed heartily as she drug Xiao along and tried to fire back amidst the flurry of snow flying everywhere. She passed Tia and hit her in the back with a puff of snowy powder making the young girl lose her balance and create an opening to escape. Eventually, it came down to Xiao, Yuhua, and Jianyu cowered behind one of the forts and the two rowdier children behind the other. The Adeptus next to her oozed distress.

"You attack each other with the elements and it's supposed to be fun?"

Yuhua patted his shoulder, which he shied away from. "They aren't trying to harm each other. It's about just having fun and playing around." Xiao didn't look convinced.

"I am sure you'll get the hang of it. Now we need a plan to take those two down. Jianyu, what do you say?" The boy looked nervously over the wall, only to squeak and duck down when a snowball flew by, narrowly missing him. Xiao tensed up and Jianyi shook his head violently. It looks like Yuhua had her work cut out for her. Both the boys in front of her were hesitant and shy or on guard and defensive in Xiao's case.

"Okay, you two here what we are gonna do…" Yuhua carefully told them both the plan and though Jinayu seemed a little hesitant he agreed. Xiao was even less enthused, arguing that bringing harm to humans let alone children was a heinous act, one he would never commit. Yuhua had to once again assure him this wasn't meant to hurt anyone. Xiao still looked unconvinced.

"I know it can be kinda scary. It scares me but it can be really fun too if you look past the scary parts." Jianyu told Xiao, tugging his sleeve. Xiao recoiled harshly and the young boy startled a bit at that. The waitress quickly came over and tickled the boy under his arms, making laughter and giggles ring out of him before he started to cry or get too discouraged by the Adeptus' frosty behavior. The kiddo seemed a lot more intrigued in the snowball fight since hearing Yuhua's plan and was even smiling wide and bouncing in place now. The Adeptus hummed suspiciously but nodded his head in acceptance.

"Readddyyyy? Go!" Yuhua scrambled up and put from behind the snow, shouting and shrieking and throwing snowballs at her enemies' encampment. Xiao bolted like a bullet from a gun silent and fast along the far edge of the clearing with Jianyu hot on his heels. The boy was nowhere near as agile or fast but made up for it with enthusiasm. Giving him and Xiao a job that got them out of the direct line of fire from the rowdier siblings was a good idea and little Jinayu was more than happy with his mission. Tia and Huizhong took notice of her and came charging at her armed with snowballs screaming victoriously at such an obvious target. While Yuhua acted as bait and just barely kept her balance against the little demons, Xiao had scooped up Jinayu and flashed across the clearing till they both ducked behind the snow fort Tia and Huizhong had just vacated. Yuhua played along a little longer letting the children kick up snow onto her shoulder and topple her into the drifts while she feigned a swoon. Once she had figured the two had enough time to gather themselves she threw herself up, using her height to her advantage and roaring playfully at the kids who shrieked in mock fear and tried to scramble away from the adult. Yuhua staggered through the snow kicking up waves onto Tia and Huizhong as they dashed back over to their fort where it was safe.

Or so they thought!

Just as they went to round the corner of the wall of snow Xiao and Jianyu popped up, the former holding the latter up, as the child pelted as many snowballs as he could at his siblings. Yuhua came to back them up, tickling Tias' sides till the little girl squealed with laughter. Huizhong took a snowball to the face yet again and toppled over, Xiao and Jianyu following suit as the boy tipped too far and threw off the Yaksha's balance. They ended up all spread out on the snow laughing and smiling. Xiao being the exception though the Adeptus did huff good-naturedly which was probably as close to a laugh as Yuhua was going to get from him. After a few moments the kids calmed down enough to lift themselves out of the snow and they started working on constructing a snowchurl on their own. Yuhua simply breathed in deep and lay where she was for a moment. The sky was overcast above her with dark clouds gathered on the horizon and staring straight into the falling snow had a magical feel to it. Fluffy flakes landed on the flushed skin of her face and clung to her eyelashes. The snow always had this feeling of calm serene beauty that Yuhua could appreciate. She wanted to keep staring up into the falling snow and never look away. Yuhua spread her arms from her sides and moved them up and done long with her legs. A childish giggle left her mouth at her actions. Skeptical golden eyes and evergreen locks filled her vision as Xiao knelt over her.

"What are you doing?" He questioned.

"I'm making a snow angel. Come on, you try. Just lay down and spread your limbs out in the snow like this." She demonstrated again.

"What's the point of this?" He replied grumpily but laid down next to her nonetheless.

"I don't know actually. I guess it's just something humans do."

"I am not human."

"Yet here you are, making snow angels with me." Yuhua smiled at Xiao's responding grumble. They remained like that, watching the snow and carving snow Angels into the ground until Yuhuas hands started to tingle, alerting her she was getting too cold from staying in one place too long. Yuhua sat up and brushed the snow from her clothes as she stood to her feet. Xiao followed her, sitting up and making quite an adorable sight. With snowflakes dusted on his head and bare shoulders, looking every bit as young as he physically looked, and a wide-eyed look on his face, staring up straight into the sky as the snow fell around him in fluffy soft clouds. His look of awe quickly vanished as he caught her staring at him. Yuhua just noticed that the Yaksha was wearing the same tight sleeveless shirt he always did.

"Aren't you cold? You aren't wearing anything to cover up." She asked breathing into her hands to help her circulation.

Xiao stood up fully and shook his head to dispel the fluffy flakes. "Hmph, no. Adepti aren't affected by harsh temperatures."

"As long as you aren't uncomfortable," Yuhua said with a smile.

"Miss Yuhua! Mr. Xiao! Come help us!" Tia called them over to where her two brothers were struggling to lift a very large snowball ball on top of another one. The children had taken making snowchurls very seriously as their base snowball was almost as tall as Jinayu. Yuhua motioned to Xiao and jogged over to the three children.

"Alright alright, let me help." Yuhua shooed the two boys away with her hands and stood in front of the large mass of snow. Crouching down she very quickly figured out she wouldn't be able to lift it. It was very too heavy and even if she could lift it, she wouldn't be able to hold it as it was far too wide for her arms.

"Xiao, could you give me a hand?" She asked the Adeptus who had been standing to the side, arms crossed and trying not to look lost.

"What is the purpose of this?" He asked in a grumbling tone as he came to help her lift the snowball.

"Oh, we're making a snowchurl. It's like a hillichurl, but made out of snow...think of it like sculpting a statue!" Yuhua explained as she and Xiao lifted the snowball on the top of the larger one underneath. Once settled and sure it would not fall, Yuhua and Xiao stepped back as the three siblings swarmed around it to pack down the snow and start shaping it.

"I can't fathom human traditions. But from what I understand statues are built to honor the history behind those that are depicted. How is this honorable?" Xiao spoke after a brief moment of silence.

Yuhua laughed. "It's not anything as complicated as that. I read once that it started as a form of artistry in Snezhnaya and quickly became popular in the rest of the regions of Teyvat. People in Snezhnaya used to have big competitions even. Nowadays it's more of just a children's game. But it's fun!" She explained holding her hands behind her back.

"And you do it...because it's fun," Xiao responded. His lips pursed and his brows furrowed as he said it, like he was trying to make sense of the words.

"Yep!" Yuhua grinned cheekily at the serious Yaksha. Tia popped her head around the snowy mess and trotted over to the taller two. The little girl tugged on Xiao's pant leg giggling when he stepped back from her touch.

"Mr. Xiao! I wanted to say thank you for coming out to play with us today. It's been so much fun." The Adeptus nodded at her, still as stoic as ever. Yuhua just barely kept herself from commenting on how cute the sight of Xiao interacting with children was. The yaksha would certainly become distant and huffy if she did.

“Hmm, maybe you guys can help us out,” Yuhua said, kneeling to pinch at Tia's cheek and made the little girl giggle. Jianyu perked and asked Yuhua what she meant.

“We are trying to find something that Xiao likes to do. Fun things ya know? Maybe you guys can tell us what you like to do and we can try it! Any ideas guys?” Yuhua asked the children, who gave a long, sing-song tone of confusion.

“How do you not know what fun things you like to do?!” Huizhong questioned Xiao forcefully. Well as forcefully as a 10-year-old could.

“I have never had time for such things before,” Xiao replied smoothly.

“Oh, how about cooking!” Jianyu suggested, throwing up his little arms with a glimmer in his eyes.

"Cooking?” Huizhong groaned, not looking very excited at the idea.

“I like cooking with my Mom and Mama! They always let me wear the nice apron and stir the food in the pot!” Jianyu explained her cheery eyes and flushed cheeks.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Tia hyped up her brother, hugging him from behind and smiling wide. Huizhoing groaned again and slumped forward dramatically.

“Oh pipe down Huizhong!” Tia snapped with no heat and pawed at his shoulder playfully. Huizhong shook her off and pinched her making Tia squeak and let go of Jianyu to retaliate.

“Okay come on let's go ask Smiley if we can use his kitchen.” Yuhua intervened, gently separating the two before they could get carried away into a play fight. She gently herded the three towards the Inn and the unlikely party filed inside and up the stairs towards the kitchens. Verr Goldet waved and smiled sweetly as they passed her where she was talking with Hua’ain by the elevator. Yuhua hummed happily and shed off her thick coat as she descended to the dining area. The air was thick with warmth and sweet heavy scents and warm lights outside the kitchen with a few stray fireflies crowding the indoors where it was warm. The atmosphere was cozy and it made her heart fill with ease. Yuhua helped the little ones out of their heavy coats and hung those up as well, Xiao standing behind her trying to look nonchalant. The little siblings pounded into the kitchen proper on happy feet and greeted Smiley Yanxiao at work on something at the counter.

“Hey, Smiley!” Yuhua called out as she and Xiao entered more calmly. The chef laughed and waved hello as he threw Huizhong upon his shoulders to make the boy squeal in delight. Yuhua noticed Xiao beside her flinch ever so slightly at the shrill noise. She muttered a soft apology that the Adeptus ignored.

"Yuhua...and Xiao! It's a surprise to see you here. Especially with so many guests along with you." Smiley skirted around the center table to greet them at the door with Huizhong swaying on his shoulders. The chef set the young boy down and he scuttled off to his siblings who were snooping through the vegetable carts underneath the counter.

"What brings you here?"

"We were hoping to commandeer your kitchen for a while. We wanted to teach Xiao here how to cook." Yuhua explained and patted Xiao's shoulder, who smacked at her hand. Smiley's eyes widened and he looked over to Xiao, who huffed and averted his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. The sous chef smiled softly, an understanding look passing over his face and something that Yuhua would almost akin to pride shining in his eyes. Xiao's shoulder steadily rose to his shoulders with the weight of Smiley's gaze on him. Yuhua squeaked as the burly sous chef's large hand descended suddenly into her hair. Brown locks were ruffled fondly into a fine tangled mess. A throaty growl to her right revealed Xiao received the same treatment from Smiley's other hand. Thick evergreen hair sprung up in unnatural directions when Smiley stepped back and Yuhua had to bite her tongue to suppress a laugh at the bothered expression on the Adeptus' face. Xiao looked like a bird whose feathers had been ruffled thoroughly. Xiao's gaze snapped over to her when a giggle slipped through her lips and Yuhua looked away quickly and held her breath to stifle any more slips. Smiley clapped his hands together.

"Alright, Kiddos! I'll show ya some tricks. Well start with Almond tofu and Huangshan can be our taste tester." The chef placed his hands on his hips and grinned.

Xiao scoffed. "I am much older than you."

"Yeah, but I'm taller~" Smiley waved with a sing-song tone as he stepped further into the kitchen. Yuhua did burst out laughing that time as Xiao's face bloomed bright red and he seethed as he followed Smiley, stomping.

"Alright, guys. I'm gonna have you help me finish up these almond cakes while Yuhua and Xiao make the tofu okay? Think you can help me roll out the dough and cut the shapes?" Smiley set the kids up at the table with a rolling pin and some tin cookie cutters. Jianyu looked downright pleased and Tia happily helped Huizhong start to spread more flour than needed, all over the table.

"You must really like Almond Tofu huh? It's all I've seen you eat and everyone tells me it's your favorite." Yuhua said, leaving out the part that it was also the best way to bribe the short-statured guardian.

"It's the only food I've found I can stand to eat. Everything else is practically inedible. I don't understand why you humans consume so much when you only need so much to survive." Xiao uncrossed his arms to take the long wooden spoon Smiley handed him.

"Food tastes good!" Jinayu protested from the table.

"The fastest way to a person's heart is through cooking. It has a lot of power behind it ya know." Yuhua said as she stoked the fire under the stove to get the pan hot enough.

"...Are you saying food can be used as a weapon?"

Smiley guffawed at Xiao's question.

"It can be, but not in a physical way I don't think. Let me try to put things into perspective for you Xiao." Smiley said as he emptied sugar, agar, cream, and almond milk into the pan, gesturing to Xiao to start stirring and rattled off more instructions for once it was ready to transfer.

"Slowly now so it doesn't burn...When I am cooking, I am creating something out of nothing. Something that can affect people. I am making art. And sometimes it's bad. Sometimes I fail but it makes me feel something. I don't have to think about only taking what I need to survive. I can focus on how it makes me feel. It's my passion." Smiley explains as she hands a large basin of frozen oil to Yuhua and explains how to deposit agar into it.

A troubled look enters Xiao's eyes and Smiley pats his shoulder.

"You'll understand eventually," Smiley said and left them alone for a moment to help Jianyu roll dough shapes out to cut into shapes. A moment passed before Yuhua commented that she didn't know almond tofu didn't have so many steps. Xiao simply hummed in response and a few minutes passed in peaceful silence as they worked with the warm glow of the stove at their legs and the sweet smell of almonds and sugar-filled their noses. Xiao's stirring slowed as he looked over to Yuhua. She held the eyedropper above the oil basin and tilted her head at him in question.

"Smiley said cooking is his passion. That it's his art. Is that what it is for you too?" Xiao asked. Yuhua nearly dropped the eyedropper. This was Xiao initiating. He was asking her something about herself. With how distant and closed off he always was and how hesitant he had been all day, the waitress was surprised he was seeking out a conversation. Pleasantly surprised. Yuhua smiled at him, somehow feeling proud that he was opening up (or trying to anyway) and let nostalgia fill her mind.

"I have a twin sister you know? When we were little, our parents were very unhappy. We, humans, feel things very strongly and I guess...they felt their love for one another too strongly. Because their affection faded and they were unhappy around each other. They would fight and yell and then hardly speak at all for days. They stopped speaking to me and my sister too eventually." Yuhua's eyes glistened and she took a deep breath before continuing.

"My sister, Xinhua, and I had to become very independent at a young age because of that. We had each other and we were there for each other where our parents couldn't be. But it was still so hard sometimes. But all the sideways glances and suffocating atmosphere and our remiss parents...but none of that existed at dinner time. Like Smiley, cooking was my mother's passion and we always came together and had a lovely meal at least once a week. And for one evening our family could at least pretend we were happy. And sometimes during those times, I think we really were. Those dinners brought my family together and gave me good memories of my parents."

"If your memories of your parents are like that...wouldn't those dinners be a reminder of it?" Xiao asked, brows furrowing as he stared into the thickening gelatin in the pot he was stirring.

Yuhua hummed. "I used to think that way. My father died when I was almost a teenager and my mother left after he passed. I guess she no longer had a reason to stay. My sister and I were suddenly very alone in the world and having to face that our mother truly had no affection left for us. We were children and we were scared. And sometimes people do and say things they don't mean when they are scared. We fought and we both said things we can never take back, and after that, we didn't speak or see each other for a long time." Yuhua placed down the eyedropper and strained out the oil so only the agar bubbles remained.

"Those years away from my sister were hard for me and I used to look back on those memories with bitter resentment. But a few years ago my sister and I crossed paths again when we both wound up working the same waitressing job in the harbor. And we talked and slowly started rebuilding our relationship. It took a lot of tears and breakthroughs, but we managed. I learned to look back on those times fondly. Cooking together, eating together, that's what brought us together in some very dark times. I now remember those as happy times instead of letting them remind me of bad memories. I cherish that I have happy ones at all." Yuhua paused to help Xiao pour the mixture into a glass dish slowly.

"For me, cooking means heartache, and sadness, but also warmth and fond memories. It reminds me of happy times with my sister and my parents and that there is joy and love in even the most unlikely places."

Yuhua smiled softly. "It's sentimental I guess you could say."

"Sentimental?" Xiao asked. "I am...not familiar with that." Yuhua opened her mouth but couldn't get a word out before Smiley swept back their way, a small device in his hands. It was a translucent gold wand-shaped tool with intricate carvings and the inside was lined with mistflower petals that gave a striking blue color to it.

"Okay kiddos. All ready?" Smiley held up the tool and Yuhua marveled at it a moment, wondering what it was for. She didn't have to ask as Smiley thrust the top straight into the tofu mixture and flicked a switch at the opposite end. A swirl of cryo energy swept through the tool and dispersed through the mixture, cooling it instantly. Yuhua and the children who had finished their task, oooooooooed at the mixture that was quickly turning into gelatin.

"All done! Now we just have to plate it and take it to Huangshan." Smiley said removing the device from the tofu.

"But first let's get the almond cakes into the oven!" Smiley held up a pan with several rolled almond-flavored dough balls resting atop it. Xiao opened the heavy metal door at Smiley's request and the chef placed the pan carefully on the hot racks. Xiao bent down to close the door. The Adeptus stayed crouched by the oven with gloved hands still pushed against the door.

"Xiao?" Yuhua asked, stepping closer to him.

"…" Xiao didn't respond, just stared at the oven door, eyes falling half-lidded. Yuhua smiled and tapped his shoulder, making him look away from the oven and stand up. Both watched as Smiley decorated a plate with the tofu and handed it to Xiao who looked mildly panicked. They walked up the stairs to the front desk lobby, and Yuhua noticed the sun was almost completely set by now. Smiley laughed heartily and gave Xiao a firm pat on the back, urging him forward and the Adeptus startled and hardly budged an inch. With Xiao begrudgingly leading, they all made their way over to the front desk where Huangshan was arguing with a guest. Rather than waiting for the guest to leave and Huangshan to be alone for a moment, Xiao walked right up to the desk and set down the plate rather bluntly.

"It's for you." Xiao, his voice not betraying anything as he completely ignored the now very indignant guest whose face was turning red. Huangshan blinked and looked down at the plate of tofu. Xiao blinked back at her and looked from the plate back up to Huangshan. The young guard took the spoon offered and scooped a small portion into her mouth. Huangshan was very serious and finished her bite, setting down the spoon before looking into Xiao's eyes. Xiao remained silent. A standstill took place and Yuhua decided to break it.

"How is it Huangshan?" She asked. Huangshan looked over at her and answered.

"It's terrible."

Yuhua sputtered and Xiao didn't react. Smiley snorted and the children looked owlishly at the dish on the counter. Xiao picked up the spoon and tried some himself, humming in thought.

"It is awful." Smiley devolved into laughter and came up to pluck the spoon from the Yaksha's hands, scooping some for himself.

"Yep! It's overcooked so the texture is too thick and it's bitter." Smiley concluded. Yuhua smiled and scratched her cheek nervously.

"Well, cooking does take practice." She said.

"Excuse me if you are all done having your little 'moment' I was having a conversation here!" The disgruntled man spoke up from where he was on the other side of the counter. Huangshan glared over at him and Yuhua turned to try and appease him by apologizing. Yuhua's steps stuttered when she took in the guest. He was a large man with weathered traveling clothes and greased hair. Stubble dotted his face in patches and a mean snarl was set on his face. This man...made her uncomfortable. She didn't know exactly what it was but Yuhua withdrew her apology idea and stayed where she was with Xiao and the Children instead.

"Fine, fine! You'll get your extra blankets now, move along and leave me to my dinner in peace. You don't want to miss that performance you spent 20 mins telling me about, do you?" Huangshan replied to the man in a dead tone as she spooned more tofu into her mouth and donned the most fed-up expression on her face. The man grumbled before stomping off towards the lower balcony.

"Performance?" Little Tia piped up, stretching to reach the counter on her tiptoes.

"Yeah, there's some bards from Mondstat performing tonight. It's quite a party out there." Huangshan replied, another spoonful finding her mouth. Tia squealed and ran over to tug at Xiao's sleeve.

"Ooooooo Mister Xiao! Can you come to dance with us? It'll be so much fun!" Tia tugged incessantly at his sleeve and Xiao tugged it from her grip.

"I am not fond of crowds." He said and held his sleeve up high away from her grasping hands. Editing line

"Pleeaaasseee!" Tia smacked at her younger brother's arm and Jianyu came to her side, eyes soft and wide just like hers. Xiao's eyes widened and he took a step back. Huizhong came up on the other side and softened his eyes as well. Xiao looked between the three of them, obviously lost.

"We don't have to stay long, these kiddos need to be getting to bed soon anyway," Yuhua said, coming up behind Xiao. The children groaned loudly but kept up the act and the Adeptus released a sigh.

"Fine. But only for a little while." Tia cheered and ran up to hug Huangshan with her brother before starting towards the balcony.

"Smiley, are you coming with us?" Yuhua asked, seeing the chef start to walk alongside them.

"Sure! Why not? It's been a while since I put my dancin shoes on." Yuhua smiled at him as they walked out towards the performance. The outside balcony had been decorated with fairy lights. A large cover had been added over the balcony and flame flower lamps were hung everywhere, keeping the place warm from the snow but not overheated. Lively music was strung from lyres and drums as the crowd danced and laughed and sang along to folk songs and stomped to the beats. Tia and her brothers shrieked in delight and quickly found their way to a group of children that held hands in a circle and whipped around like a carousel. A boisterous Hua'ain grabbed Smiley's hand upon spotting him and spun him into a fast-paced two-step. Yuhua laughed as Smiley and Hua'ain spun around in circles laughing with flushed faces. Yuhua highly doubted Xiao wanted to dance, and she figured this was probably a bit out of his comfort zone so she stayed at the back of the crowd with the rigid Yaksha next to her. For a while it was nice. The bright lights and happy voices carried over her. Yuhua sort of wanted to join in the fun but was content to watch Tia and her brothers scuttle through the dance floor and Smiley exchange drinks and stories with the guests. Yuhua smiled at the warmth around her and looked over to say something to Xiao. But whatever it was she was going to say fell from her thoughts like a cold dread. Xiao's shoulders had risen almost up to his ears and a harsh glare was directed at anyone who looked his way. His breathing had pitched up faster and there was a slight ever so subtle tremble in his shoulders.

"Xiao?" Yuhua placed a concerned hand on his shoulder. Xiao flinched back so violently from her and a growl left his throat. Yuhua gasped and stepped back. Xiao's arms flew up to his sides, crossed as far and as firmly as they would go and his breathing picked up slightly. Yuhua called out to him again and he burst into dark shadows. Turquoise light wisped around her as the Adeptus vanished before her eyes. Startled gasps echoed around her as spooked dancers whispered about the burst of anemo that took Xiao with it. Worry settled into her veins as she looked around the crowd. Smiley's concerned visage appeared before her and he took her hands.

"Go on. I'll look after the children." He said and let her go before shooing her towards the stairs. Yuhua ascended as quickly as she could without taking the steps two at a time and emerged onto the highest balcony of the Inn. Xiao stood with his back to her, against the railing, arms still wrapped around himself. Yuhua approached cautiously. Xiao's shoulder trembled and his eyes were blown wide, staring at something only he could see, breathes of air escaping his lips in near-silent, rapid puffs. Yuhua recognized panic when she saw it and her gaze steeled as she rounded herself to face the Adeptus fully and grabbed onto his shoulders, carefully avoiding the spikes on one side. She carefully (and awkwardly) half guided, half pushed him down to sit onto the floor, and followed suit to sit in front of him, her shins pressed up against his. Her hands pried him away from his own arms, which had begun to turn red at his crushing grip. She quickly laced both of their hands together in front of them fighting for a hold on Xiao's stiff, uncooperative fingers.

"Easy…take a deep breath. It's okay." Yuhua kept her voice low and soft and squeezed his hands in hers once, twice, three times. Xiao's eyes twitched but he didn't respond. Yuhua repeated her instructions and squeezed his hands again but the Adeptus didn't budge, his breath still erratic and his shoulder still hiked up his ears and tense. Yuhua frowned in worry.

"He is so far in his own head I don't think he is listening." Yuhua needed to think of something else.

"Did you know Smiley is afraid of ghosts?" Yuhua asked him. Xiao remained unresponsive verbally but the question did make him look up at her. Yuhua took a deep breath before continuing, trying to distract Xiao enough to respond.

"One time Wei, the cat at the front desk, got into the kitchen. The little rascal likes to sleep in the tea cupboards and when Smiley found things knocked over or misplaced he was dead set on there being a ghost in the kitchen." Yuhua watched as Xiao's eyes steadily focused more on her words and she squeezed her fingers around his again, three times.

"Once while he was cooking Wei snuck in and knocked over a salt shaker and Smiley ran screaming from the kitchens. He hid underneath the front desk and refused to move for almost an hour. The boss had to hold his hand and take him back to the kitchen to show him there was no ghost. Smiley made her check in the cupboards and everything!" Yuhua huffed as she remembered that humorous event a few months ago. Xiao's eyes darted around but his shoulders lost just a bit of their tension.

"I've never seen a grown man get that worked up over a mischievous cat. He refuses to talk about it to this day, but all the staff teases him endlessly." Yuhua squeezed Xiao's hands and this time he tentatively squeezed back weakly. Yuhua smiled in relief and continued to babble on about whatever story she could think of, squeezing the gloved hands in her hold every few moments, and receiving a squeeze in return that got stronger every time. The Yaksha gradually began to relax more and his attention on her sharpened slowly. Yuhua was just reaching the end of a story about the Traveller almost falling off the top of the Inn while trying to pick sun berries when Xiao's hands squeezed hers without any prompting. Yuhua carefully retracted her grip and sat back a little to give Xiao some breathing room now that she was sure he had calmed down some. A moment passed in tense silence before Xiao broke it.

"I have been manhandled by humans more times in the past month than ever in my life." He said, rubbing at his wrists and looking anywhere but at Yuhua. The waitress smiled and pulled herself to her feet.

"Sometimes a little manhandling can be good for you." She remarked back.

Xiao sighed. "No respect for the Adepti." And he too pulled himself to his feet, brushing off his pants as he did.

"Are you feeling okay now?" Yuhua asked, an edge of worry wiggling its way into her tone. Xiao simply nodded, gazing at the floor. Yuhua sighed and held her hands up to her chest.

"Xiao, I owe you an apology." That got him to look up at her but she didn't give him the chance to respond.

"You told me you didn't like crowded places, and I didn't realize how serious that was for you. I never wanted to make you uncomfortable or force you into a scary situation. So I am very sorry for causing you distress." Yuhua finished and made sure her words were meaningful. Xiao averted his gaze and crossed his arms behind his back. Several tense moments followed and the waitress very nearly bid him goodnight and left, thinking he would want to be alone after that. Xiao looked over to her with a strange unreadable look in his eyes.

"I told you before that the Yaksha were guardian spirits." He said and Yuhua blinked at the change of topic.

"I watch over Liyue and protect it from demons and monsters that are born from the hatred of fallen gods. Slaying demons comes with a price, however. The hatred and malice of those gods had never disappeared. And every time I fulfill my duty and slay another monster that had been tainted by that malice it adds to the karmic debt I hold. It is a constant fight to keep that at bay. To keep that hatred from getting out or tainting anyone around me. I never liked being around others because of that. It is my burden and no one else needs to concern themselves with it...I am used to being alone. Suddenly being around so many others, around so many mortals...it was startling." Yuhua didn't think she ever heard Xiao string that many words together at once. It might be the most she's ever heard him say at all. She...never realized that he carried so much. Truthfully, Yuhua had been a little frustrated at first with Xiao being distant with her throughout the day. She could tell he was giving her a lot by simply even going along with this messy idea of hers but she couldn't help but be slightly annoyed at how withdrawn he was. From his short responses and hesitance to interact with people to his reserved nature and stubbornness. But all that seemed pointless and guilt-ridden upon hearing this. She should know better than to judge someone she doesn't know well. Everyone has their own worries and demons and problems and it affects everyone differently. The waitress didn't let her own guilt cloud her thoughts over though. This wasn't about her. It was about Xiao. And Xiao was always watching over them and shouldering debts beyond their comprehension onto himself. Yuhua felt sympathy well up inside her for the loner Adeptus and she began to wonder if Xiao ever even liked being alone in the first place. Thinking back on the events of the day, Yuhua realized that the crowded dance area might not have been the only thing to overwhelm Xiao. Just the first that was noticeable.

"Being around me and the kids for so long must have been pretty overstimulating. That feeling of being overwhelmed...I understand Xiao."

The shorter boy frowned at her.

Yuhua frowned back. "I really do. It feels like your chest seizes up and you can't breathe because your heart is beating too hard. A million different thoughts fly through your head all at once and everything is too loud and too quiet at the same time. You feel like there are rocks in your throat and sand in your lungs and it encompasses your whole body till you feel like you have no control...am I right?" Xiao's hands balled into fists and he refused to meet her eyes.

"That's called a panic attack, Xiao. I have been there in that place and in that feeling. Not for the same reasons as you but I understand." Yuhua emphasized the last word, trying to get through to a legendary being that she was slowly beginning to consider a friend.

"I...don't know how to respond to that," Xiao replied after a beat of silence.

"That's okay. You don't have to say anything." The waitress looked at Xiao and saw everything she used to see in herself when she was young. Back when she didn't understand why her parents wouldn't talk to her and she felt so many emotions and didn't understand why it hurt so much when she was far used to it by then. Yuhua remembered how lost and confused she felt when having to face things no child ever should. All those big emotions were scary. And that look she saw on her face in the mirror was the same as the one Xiao's now. They had wildly different experiences but Yuhua empathized with him so much at this moment. Xiao was doing things outside his comfort zone, a comfort zone he had been in for a thousand years no doubt. He was facing emotions and situations that were different and change was always terrifying, whether you were human or otherwise.

"Xiao, I just want to help you." The waitress said, while mentally trying to decide if laying a hand on his shoulder was a good idea. Touching him might be too much right now. Judging by the way he growled at her in response the answer was definitely no.

"Why are you doing this? Why go this far to express gratitude? Your efforts in all of this are sufficient enough to get your point across. I already told you to think nothing of it, I don't know why you keep pushing." Xiao's tone was impatient but also exasperated. He sounded more confused than angry and Yuhua's heart went out to him.

"That may have been how this started but now I just want to help you because I like you. I may not understand everything about you but I understand enough to know I want to help you. And before you say so, no it's not out of pity." Yuhua quickly added once she saw his guard start to rise and his eyes hardened.

"I don't pity you, Xiao, I empathize with you. I see something in you that makes me care about you and I always want to help the people I care about." Yuhua might have pushed a bit too far. Xiao and she had only officially met that day and Xiao was obviously a skittish type. But she couldn't help it. The Adeptus reminded her of her little sister and herself in enough ways to pull at her heartstrings and want to get closer to him...if he would let her. Xiao held eye contact, his gaze searching, and Yuhua made sure he would find nothing but honesty. She didn't care that holding a staring contest with a possibly pissed-off and stressed-out Adeptus would be absolutely terrifying in any other instances she wouldn't back down or shy away. She wanted Xiao to see she was serious. Xiao blinked.

"...Oh." A soft pink hue rising to his face.

Yuhua almost laughed. "Yeah. Oh. So tell me Might Adeptus, despite the rough ending did you have any fun today? Was there anything that you enjoyed?" Xiao stayed quiet for a long while and the waitress figured she wouldn't get an answer until it seemed he finally gathered his thoughts, a deep contemplative expression on his face.

"...music." He finally replied, placing his fingers together behind his back, and turned his gaze towards the midnight sky above them.

"Music? At the performance?" Yuhua parrots and tilts her head, a hand to her chin, perplexed.

Xiao wrinkles his nose. "The music was far too loud and harsh. But it had its own charm I guess."

"So do you...like music? Have you ever listened to it before tonight?" She asked and almost immediately felt silly. Xiao was so much older than anyone she had met, he had probably listened to thousands of pieces of music. But...Xiao had also said he had never tried new things before. That he protected and did other things for entertainment was a waste of his time. So maybe her initial question wasn't far off the mark. Seeking out melodious tunes to listen to wasn't an activity she would pin as something he would do.

"I have once. A very long time ago." Xiao replied. The waitress tried not to sigh at how right she was. Xiao faltered a moment, shifting his weight as Yuhua waited for him to continue.

"It was a melody played on a flute and...I wish I could hear it again." Stars shone in Yuhua's eyes, fists held up to her chest as she listened to Xiao. Seeing him so expressive even if only through words was amazing. After all the time she had known of his existence and seen his stoic facade on top of the Inn she always wondered what he would look like when he was happy. And although this wasn't quite that it was close. Xiao caught her staring and a pinch appeared on his brow.

The waitress quickly recovered and kept the conversation going to keep Xiao from getting too embarrassed. "So that song, it made you feel something?"

He nodded.

Yuhua hummed. She could tell Xiao was holding something back. She would have to direct this conversation carefully so as not to upset him again. Xiao was already sharing a lot and especially after being so upset before, Yuhua didn't want to push too hard and make him clam up or worse shut down again.

"Okay, can you describe that feeling?" Yuhua asked gently. Hesitance crossed his features and Yuhua was quick to reassure him.

"So that song that you heard, it made you feel something. That feeling...how would you describe it?" Yuhua asked.

Hesitance appeared across his features and his perfect brow furrowed.

"It's okay! Take all the time you need, just...try and describe it to me as best you can okay?"

The Adeptus took a moment, his eyes misting over as he delved into thought. Yuhua had to force herself not to hold her breath. Getting the closed-off boy to express himself was no easy task but she could barely keep her composure when she could see that he was trying.

"...Vibrant." Xiao finally spoke. Yuhua stayed quiet as he gathered the rest of his thoughts to continue.

"I felt vibrant, and relieved, and peaceful, and awed all at the same time. I felt like...every burden was taken from my shoulders and replaced with vibrancy like nothing I've ever experienced before." He finally said a hand held to his chest. Yuhua nearly lost her breath. The way Xiao described that was beautiful. The waitress felt amazement fill her like a warm wave. Seeing Xiao here in the moonlight talking about a melody he heard archon knows how long ago was a sight Yuhua doesn't think she'll ever forget. Seeing Xiao like this in the moonlight with marsh stretched out behind him with a soft expression. The Yaksha's lips were pursed and his eyes were soft. It wasn't a smile, but it was getting there. Yuhua had the giddy urge to stomp her feet and squeal in delight. She didn't do that though. Instead, she stepped closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. It was a testament to how comfortable he was that he didn't flinch, merely side-eyed her.

"It sounds like that was a very impactful melody to you." She smiled softly at him and squeezed his shoulder. Xiao nodded at her, the soft faraway look still in his eyes.

Yuhua lifts her hands from his shoulder and grabs onto his hand, the one where his vision rests, and holds it up between them. Xiao does startle at that and his eyes lose their soft misty look to snap up to her own, in surprise.

"I think I know what to get you now." The waitress squeezes his fingers and beams at Xiao and he blinks in response.

"Thank you, Xiao, for spending the day with me. I can't wait to get you that gift! I think you will love it!" Yuhua lets go of his hand and scurried off, calling over her shoulder.

"I'll leave it up here tomorrow at sometime after sunset!" before hurrying down to the lobby. She had a trip to the harbor to plan.

------------------

Yuhua yawned and rested her upper body against the desk. Sleep dragged at her eyelids her bones felt heavy. A thin hand stroked her head and if she were a cat, she'd be purring.

"Yuhua dear, you can take the day off." Vere Goldet said from above her, hand still combing through her hair. Yuhua shook her head and stood up straight, yawning again.

"There's still so much work to be done! I can rest later." The waitress said and stretched her arms above her head to try and alleviate her tiredness. The Boss of Wangshu Inn smiled with a worried tint to her eyebrows.

"Really Boss, it's fine," Yuhua assured her. Yuhua had made a mad dash for the harbor the day before, and although she left in the early morning she hadn't reached her destination till nightfall. While usually, an hour or so trip, the trek to the Harbour had been strenuous and she had to make several detours due to the volume of the snow blocking paths and slowing her down as well as having to avoid new monster camps that had popped up everywhere since the cold weather had set in. Milileth had been rerouting anyone coming and going away from new hilichurl packs and camps and Yuhua had barely made it to see the merchant she needed to meet with before they had packed up and closed down for the day. It was only thanks to the Inns connections with the Qixing that she had managed to arrange a meeting with them so last minute as well. But luckily they had been selling what she needed and she had managed to get back to the Inn just before dawn. Xiao had been nowhere in sight when she had left the lacquered wood box on the small table up at his balcony. She had peaked out later in the day to fond the box gone and she had squealed in delight and clapped her hands, hoping the Adeptus liked her gift. That was yesterday. Yuhua had barely managed to catch up on her sleep from the all-nighter she had pulled and it was showing. She wasn't worried though. A few more sleepy days and she would be back on track.

"As long as you aren't pushing yourself. You let me know if you need to take a break." Verr drew her out of her musings and Yuhua forced her hazy focus back on the task at hand, which was folding spare blankets to give to guests. Traffic at the Inn had slowed almost to a stop over the past day and Yuhua was content to fold laundry at the desk to keep company with Verr or Huangshan.

"Hmmm. I hear Xiao liked your gift by the way." The boss said as she shuffled a stack of papers.

"Huh?" Yuhua almost dropped the blanket she was holding. Verr simply smiled and looked back at her paperwork. Yuhua gasped and slammed the blanket she was no longer folding down on the counter.

"Boss! Tell me!" She said, puffing out her cheeks. Verr laughed and patted her cheek.

"I heard from one of the guests of some strange music being played from the top of the Inn last night. They were convinced it was a specter of some sort but I went to investigate I-" Verr's sentence was cut off with a squeak as Yuhua threw the blanket at her face and took off running for the stairs. She wasn't tired now! Excitement flooded through her as she called out an apology to Verr and flew up the stairs as fast as her feet would allow her. She reached the highest balcony and took a moment to catch her breath before creeping put as quiet as she possibly could. Yuhua marsh had been turned into an untouched snowscape and a serene stillness took over the land. Her breath fogged in front of her and Yuhua didn't dare step further out in fear the crunch of the snow bathed her boots would disturb the sight in front of her. The illuminated Adeptus was perched sideways on the balcony rail, one foot up to balance him and the other hanging down. Snow dusted his pale shoulders and brought a stark contrast to his dark hair, and it clung to the bottoms of his boots. Xiao looked perfectly at home and in place with the scenery. An anemograma Sprite fluttered around his head, leaving little green wisps in its wake. He held a Dihua flute to his lips and played a melody Yuhua had never heard. It flowed like liquid gold from the instrument and created a peaceful untainted tune that wrapped around Yuhua's mind and put her in awe. Xiao's eyes were closed and he was so intently lost in the music he created he didn't even seem to notice her there. There was a look on his face that screamed he deeply understood and enjoyed every note he played. A smile spread on her face and Yuhua quietly crept back into the Inn, leaving the Adeptus to his playing.

She definitely found the perfect gift.

Chapter Text

Huai'an had never been good at handling emotional situations.

It was a character flaw of his. The Inn owner was all smiles and bad jokes and queer humor but once the tears came out and someone was genuinely upset with him he had a bad case of sticking his foot in his mouth and being utterly hopeless to help. His wife was so much better at easing flared tempers and smoothing ruffled feathers. His clever, beautiful wife would be doing such a better job at diffusing the current full-blown tantrum that was going on in front of him.

Wails rang in his ears as little Tia threw a downright fit in front of him. The little girl was sobbing her lungs out and drawing all sorts of attention as Huai'an desperately tried to calm her down with soft shushes and pats on her arm. Tia was inconsolable and Huai'an sighed as he tried to think of a way to calm her down. Tia was upset because Huai'an had blocked her from going out onto Xiao's balcony. The 8-year-old had explained she was going up to see Xiao, as she had gotten quite attached to him during their little adventure two weeks prior, and Huai'an had had to refuse her and thus she had pitched a hissy fit.

The rumors spread from the Yaksha's brief appearance at the party had kicked up a frenzy of curious guests. Then coupled with Xiao's new habit of playing melodies on a flute atop the Inn had only added fuel to the gossip fire. All of the staff and most of their regulars knew about the Adeptus and didn't bat an eye at a slim figure balanced on a roof outcropping or a shadowy figure plunging off the top of the Inn. But there were so many travelers now stranded at Wangshu until the weather cleared up enough to leave. The snow had only gotten worse and worse and had now been driving people inside. And with so many people stuck inside, they had become bored and seeking entertainment wherever they could find it. And that, unfortunately, came at the expense of their resident elusive Adeptus.

Not many in Liyue had heard tales of the Adeptus that Wangshu Inn housed. But while the Liyuen citizens that had gotten wind of an Apedti staying nearby, they had an understanding and level of respect for the Adepti of their homeland. Outside travelers did not. Word of Xiao's existence had spread through the bored guests and soon enough everyone was clamoring to get a look at the Yaksha. The highest balcony was rather crowded the past few days as guests had been coming and going from there frequently and some of the more tenacious had even waited up there for hours hoping they would be lucky enough that Xiao would show himself to them. The persistent and brash attitude of tourists and travelers alike had also angered not only the staff but the Liyuen guests as well. Nobody liked seeing someone so important to their culture treated like a show pony. Xiao had become even more skittish than usual with new attention on him and now hardly ever came down from the roof if he could help it. The one time Huai'an had managed to get the Adeptus to come down and accept some warm almond cakes (courtesy of Smiley) the Yaksha had oozed tension.

He had taken the plate, his shoulders stiff up to his ears, and darted back up to the highest branches of the tree above the Inn without saying a word. And while his silence was normally not out of the norm for him, Huai'an heart had ached to see the boy look so uncomfortable and stiff in what should be his home. Hua'ain had spoken with his wife and had later ventured out, with a very angry Verr Goldet, onto the balcony. Upon hearing of Xiao's poorly hidden distress and the incident the day before, where a young man had almost injured himself from falling while trying to get up to the roof, they made an announcement. All guests were informed that the top floor balcony was now closed until further notice and only the staff was permitted to be out there. This announcement had been accepted but had not gone over well. Many guests had snuck out onto the balcony regardless and one had even gone as far as to threaten physical harm if they didn't let him out there.

So now they had to have someone watching the stairs to keep out unwanted visitors and with the staff stretched thin it was putting pressure on everyone. Huai'an flinched when Tia shrieked particularly loud and stomped her feet.

"I wanna see Xiao!" She yelled and waved her arms, tiny hands clenched into fists. Huai'an was starting to worry she would cry herself hoarse when an angel of beauty came to his rescue.

"Oh my. What's all this noise for now?" The gentle voice of his lovely wife was like a soothing balm on both his and little Tia's frayed nerves. Verr Goldet lowered herself to a crouch in front of the little girl who had reduced to violent sniffles upon the Boss' approach.

"I wanna see XiAOOoo!" Tia wailed again and Verr simply smiled and smoothed down the child's hair, gently shushing her.

"Tiaaa~ I can't understand you when you are being so loud. So let's take a deep breath and then we can talk about why you are so upset and try and fix it okay?" Huai'an watched as his clever wife gently wiped away Tia's tears and cleaned her nose with her coat sleeve, not at all bothered about soiling it. Tia started to calm down and sniffled and rubbed her eyes harshly. Verr gently guided her hands away from her face and smiled at the little one again.

"I-I wanna see Xiao! But this mean man won’t let me through!" Tia cried and tried again to wipe her eyes. His wife tightened her hold on Tia in response to keep her from rubbing her face raw.

"Xiao just needs some time to himself right now. How would you like it if someone tried to wake you up to play when you were sleeping? You'd be cranky right?" Verr softened her voice to a lisp to make the girl smile.

"Yeah." Tia sniffled again.

"This nice man was just trying to make sure Xiao could get his rest. He wasn't trying to keep you from seeing your friend. Isn't that right Huai'an?" Verr turned to him and her smile started to turn into a smirk.

"Ah! O-of course! Of course, I was." Huai'an faltered a moment before regaining his composure and smiling at Tia. The little girl was starting to look more hopeful now and she wiped her nose and asked Verr if Xiao would be able to play later.

"I'm sure he would love to, sweetheart. Now, why don't you go and make something for him? I'm sure he'd love to see it when he's feeling better!" Verr's gentle suggestion was met with bright eyes and excited hand wiggles as Tia nodded her head and took off down the stairs towards her room. Huai'an smiled and extended a hand to pull Verr up off the floor. He tugged a little harder until she was in his arms and kissed her forehead sweetly.

"Why haven't we had kids yet?" Huai'an asked as he hugged his wife. Verr smiled somberly.

"We'll get there." She said. Huai'an just smiled and wrapped his arms around her tighter.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue. I swear when those tears start falling I just don't know what to do with myself.

"Don't look so down! You have your own strengths elsewhere." The woman said and kissed his cheek.

"What would I do without you, my wonderful, guardian angel?" The Boss giggled and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"I'm glad it all worked out. I was afraid I'd have to bust out the sweets if she got any more upset." She replied and shivered slightly, burrowing deeper into his arms.

"Oooooo sweets."

"Some apple crisps do sound lovely right about now don't they?" His wife said still trying to bury herself far enough into his coat to disappear into it. Huai'an laughed and reached his hands around to run them up his wife's ribs eliciting a quiet shriek as she fully launched herself out of his arms and away from tickling fingers. Verr glared at him and Huai'an laughed and reached out to take her hand.

"So what brings you up here? Not that I'm not happy to see you of course." Huai'an said and squeezed her hand in his. Seriousness entered his wife’s gaze and Huai'an braced himself for the bad news. Verr reached into her thick coat and retrieved a letter from her pocket, handing it over to the Inn owner.

"This came from the Qixing a few hours ago." She said, a heavy tone in her voice.

"What is it?" Huai'an carefully unfolded the letter to see a memo at the top of the letter.

Due to rapidly declining temperatures and a predicted thundersnow storm, all offsite and secondary locations are to take shelter and remain indoors until the weather event has passed. No exceptions will be made and necessary precautions must be taken to ensure citizen and member safety. Effective Immediately:

"A thundersnow?" Huai'an rubbed his bearded chin in thought. The letter then went on to a lengthy list of instructions and precautions to take for the coming storm. A thundersnow was a very rare occurrence, where snow and blizzard conditions created enough static buildup to meld it into a thunderstorm. It usually only happened in Inazuma, a region constantly charged with electricity. Verr nodded her head.

"The freeze moving in is also going to be far worse than we thought. The higher-ups predict we have 1 week until it hits us full-on." Huai'an hummed as he read over the letter.

"We'll have to see about boarding up the place." He said. Wangshu Inn, like many places in Liyue, had infrastructure that was designed for milder to warmer weather. With open areas that led outside and large awnings to keep shade around. Boarding up the open entrances to the balconies would be a very arduous task but if the storm was as bad as the Qixing were predicting it would be necessary to get everyone inside and keep the place closed uptight.

"There's also another matter I wanted to discuss with you." Verr inclined her head towards the balcony when Huai'an looked up at her.

"About Xiao?" Verr nodded at him again.

"I was hoping you could help me talk to him. I want to try and convince him to come inside till the storm passes." Huai'an barely held off a wince. Xiao would not like that at all. Adeptus was obviously fond of high places and the top floor balcony was practically where he lived. Huai'an fondly recalled a time when Xiao had practically hissed down from the roof at a guest trying to enjoy a meal on said balcony and scared the living daylights out of them.

"Hmm, he won’t like that."

"I know but I'm hoping we can convince him. With all this going on and the number of nosy guests trying to disturb him, I'm worried and want to keep a closer eye on him. Especially with how bad this storm will be…" Verr trailed off, her eyes downcast. Huai'an smiled and lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles.

"Let's go then. I'm not optimistic he will agree but there's no harm in trying." He gently tugged her towards the balcony and Verr smiled at him. They had to carefully pick their way out to the balcony as the snow was up to the shins now and caused many difficulties walking anywhere outside. Once to the point where they could see the rooftop easily, Huai'an stepped forward.

"Xiao? Could you come out, please? We want to talk to you about something important." Several moments of frozen stillness greeted them. Huai'an had a feeling Xiao would not show himself, what with how much time he'd been spending avoiding all his unwanted visitors, it was no surprise he was being distant.

"Xiao. This is about your safety and ours. Please come talk to us." Verr stepped up this time, a determined set to her brow. Those must have been the right words because a heartbeat layer and Xiao was easily skittering down the roof to stand in front of them in snow that went nearly past his knees.

"What?" The Yaksha snapper, crossing his arms over his chest curtly. Oh boy. This wouldn't be fun, not while Xiao was in a bad mood. Huai'an didn’t blame him for how on edge he's been the past few days. But talking to a cranky Xiao was like walking on eggshells at the best of times and running through lava at the worst. Huai'an tried to stay calm and not show his apprehension. He didn't think he was doing as well as his wife, who was calm and soft edges as she spoke to the wired boy in front of her.

"Xiao. We have a request of you. The Qixing has informed us that a thundersnow storm is moving in, one that's going to be very bad." Verr started.

"A thundersnow?" Xiao's arms uncrossed and serious intrigue graced his features. Verr nodded and continued to explain what they could expect of the raging storm to come and the preparation that they would have to set in place, with Xiao paying rapid attention.

"That would explain things. I have not seen weather this cold in Liyue in a very long time and the activity in the marsh has almost completely stopped. Even the most wildly tainted demons are staying out of sight." Xiao responded once Verr had finished her explanation.

"We wanted to ask if you would remain inside till the storm passes. The staff would feel much safer with you nearby, and we would feel better that you are out of the cold." Huai'an ventured carefully. He saw Xiao's brows draw together and his frown deepen. But his wife stepped in before the Adeptus could complain.

"It's not just for our benefit. We would be able to better keep guests away from you so you can have some peace till the end of the weather. And we don't like the thought of having you out here when it's going to be so dangerous. I would sleep better at night knowing you are somewhere warm and safe during this." His wife laid a gentle hand on Xiao's cheek and Huai'an noticed he tensed up slightly but didn't recoil or shrug her off like he normally would.

Progress.

Smiley and Yuhua had told them about Xiao trying new things. About how he was trying to change and grow by himself after Rex Lapis' passing, even if Xiao himself hadn't quite figured out that was what he was doing yet, and Verr and himself were in agreement that they would offer every bit of silent support they could. Huai'an had a feeling that nobody had touched the Adeptus with care and affection for a very long time, based on the way he reacted to it now. As far as accepting some of the staff's casual affection, from Smiley's rough hair ruffles to Huangshan's playful pinches, things were going well. Although he still backed away and kept his distance he was getting better at accepting the affection that the staff was gentle but persistent about giving, despite not once ever initiating himself. Xiao had been opening up and coming around more often until the newest rumors had spread and pushed him back into isolation.

"Adepti are not affected by the weather like you are." The Yaksha protested.

"You may not be as susceptible to it as we are but it does affect you-don't give me that look I know as much from Ganyu!" Huai'an said when Xiao gave him a seething look. He would have to thank the Qixing secretary for her insight sometime soon. Xiao bristled at his words and his wife stroked his cheek with her thumb softly making Xiao's face turn pink at the attention. Xiao's eyes averted downward.

"It is already bad enough as is. I don't wish to be around even more mortals." Huai'an smiled softly at his words.

"We will make sure that you have places to go that are out of sight from anyone, and if someone tries to get too close we can just kick them out!" Huai'an reassured him with a bright grin. Verr glared his way but there was no heat behind it. Although the Boss had strict priorities about their work and how they handled guests, they both knew she would drop that in a heartbeat if it meant supporting Xiao. After all, a big reason the Inn even existed was because of Xiao.

"..." Xiao's silence spoke of his hesitance on the matter and Huai'an was about to sight and give up when his wife yet again surprised him.

"We are just worried about everyone's safety Xiao. Everyone includes you too." Verr said and gently pinched the Adeptus' cheek. Only his clever, kind-hearted wife could get away with such soft ministrations on the guardian spirit without Xiao skittering away or getting angry. And Huai'an could see the moment Xiao relented. How his slim shoulders untensed and his eyes softened ever so slightly. Honestly, after so many years of marriage, Huai'an shouldn't be so surprised at how amazing his wife was but he swore he was still as smitten as their first date.

"...Very well. If it will put your mind at ease then I will come inside until the storm passes." The Yaksha straightened up to his full height (that didn't even come to Huai'an's shoulders) and squared his shoulders. Huai'an could tell Xiao was trying to save some of his distant and aloof image and the Inn owner had to concentrate very hard to get the image of an adorable posturing finch out of his mind. Verr let go of his cheek and Huai'an sidled up behind the Adeptus to grab onto his shoulders gently and steer him around towards the stairs with Verr following along behind. Xiao tensed but went along willingly.

"Why don't we walk you down to the kitchen, hm? Smiley Yanxiao talking earlier about making some new desserts. I'm sure he'd love some company." Xiao didn't react to Huai'ans words but allowed himself to be led through the lobby and down into the kitchen where Smiley greeted him with a hearty pack on the back. Verr and Huai'an smiled and slowly and silently inched back up the stairs while the Adeptus was distracted. Xiao looked back at them once, a nervous shift in his eyes, and Huai'an smiled at him and held a thumbs up in his direction. The Yaksha turned back to Smiley when the sous chef asked him a question that Huai'an couldn't hear and Verr tugged him along back towards the desk. Huangshan was there conversing with Yuhua but both had stopped to stare when they had passed by with Xiao in tow.

"It worked?" Huangshan asked with a disbelieving note in her voice. Verr nodded and grinned.

"Hmmm? We'll have to keep a close eye on him to see how this goes." Yuhua said while leaning her body against the counter in a lazy stretch.

"Yes, we will. I've informed the rest of the staff but please make sure we are all aware of Xiao while he's inside with us and we steer away from any guests that get too close. While our hospitality is important, Xiao takes priority." Verr said and the girls at the counter nodded. Yuhua glanced over to the kitchen where the top of Xiao's head could just be seen as Smiley waved a rolling about while he spoke of some thrilling tale.

"Do you think everything will be okay? I have a bad feeling." Yuhua said, turning to them with a worried look. Huai'an shared that feeling. The feeling of a cherry pit stuck in his throat and a dread-filled stomach. It was already risky to put Xiao in an uncomfortable position, but with the storm looming closer and the threat of what was to come it was even worse. Keeping the Yaksha as comfortable as possible, while also keeping the guests comfortable and keeping the Inn from being torn apart by the weather was a load of tasks that was beginning to really weigh on them all. But despite all that, Huai'an couldn't help the more pressing sense of worry for Xiao in particular.

"I'm sure it will all be fine, as long as we do our jobs!" Huangshan said after a few moments of tense silence, and Huai'an had to admire her optimism. All four of them looked over to the kitchen this time, a concerned aura shrouding over the group.

"We'll look after our Adeptus. It will be okay." Verr said and squeezed Huai'ans hand. He squeezed back. Just as Yuhua did, Huai'an had a bad feeling about this.

----------

The clank of a porcelain plate startled him awake as Huai'an sat up quickly from where he had dozed off while watching the desk. Yuhua winked at him and scuttled off, leaving a warm plate of almond tofu on the desk in front of him. Huai'an sighed and stretched his arms up. He had asked Yuhua to deliver some of Xiao's favorites to him around this time of day so that Huai'an might be able to tempt the Adeptus down from his new perch up in the rafters above the desk.

Xiao had been increasingly more restless and twitchy over the past couple of days inside. The staff had been doing well at keeping him tucked out of sight in the rafters or down in the kitchens where it was warm. The Yaksha had taken a liking to sitting in front of the oven while Smiley fretted around the kitchen. But even with their efforts, Xiao was obviously uncomfortable about being around so many people so often. While he seemed perfectly fine with some of the staff, he still got skittish around others, and whenever a guest appeared Xiao would practically hit the floor to hide from curious stares. The reserved boy had been reclusive and on edge the entire time and it was clear the extra attention from the rumors had been what set off this behavior. Huai'an conceded to try and get Xiao to relax some but he knew it would be a delicate process. If he wasn't careful with his words he might just be on the receiving end of Xiao's sharp tongue and attitude. Huai'an waited till the lobby had cleared and there was a steady lull in guests.

Melodious notes drifted down from above his head. Huai'an looked up to see the bottom of an indigo boot several feet above him swaying gently to the tune that lazily curled around the room. Every now and then the music would cut abruptly before starting up at a previous point. Like the one playing had messed up and went back to correct himself. Huai'an smiled and gently knocked his knuckles on the wall behind the desk.

"Xiao? Care to join me down here for a moment." He asked and held up the dessert Yuhua had delivered when the boot disappeared over the side of the beam and golden eyes peeked down at him. Xiao dropped smoothly from the wooden beam he had been resting on for hours and slipped down next to him. Upon noticing the empty lobby, Xiao's shoulder relaxed slightly and he jumped to scramble up to sit on top of the desk next to Huai'an criss-cross style, with one foot hanging down in the air. Huai'an handed over the still-warm plate and Xiao accepted, spooning some into his mouth with a satisfied hum. The Adeptus' flute lay next to him on the desk and Huai'an found his eyes drifting to it.

"You got that flute from Yuhua right?" Xiao started a little at his question, shoulders tensing as he paused, spoon still in his mouth.

"...yes. She said it was a gift to show her gratitude." He finally answered.

"I heard about that, I'm glad she was okay. I didn't know you played the flute though." Huai'an leaned against the desk casually. Xiao hummed and swallowed another bite.

"I have never played the flute before now." The Adeptus replied. Huai'an blinked in surprise. To think he had never held an instrument before now and he had such talent already!

"Really? You've never had any other experience?" Huai'an asked incredulously.

"No. I just…play what feels right." Xiao shook his head as he finished off his almond tofu.

"I'm still figuring it out."

"That's really amazing. You already play so well. That song you have been playing though, it seems you've almost got it down. Did you hear it somewhere?" Xiao shifted at his question and Huai'an reminded himself to slow down. Too many questions probably wasn't a good idea, but he couldn't help it! Xiao was talking to him and engaging (in his own reserved way) and Huai'an was having too much fun just talking to the Adeptus.

"I actually heard it a long time ago played by the Anemo Archon...." Xiao replied after a tense moment of uncomfortable shifting. Huai'an practically lit up like a festival lantern. Several seconds passed and Xiao continued before Huai'an had a chance Huai'an respond.

"When I slay demons, it accumulates a debt. A karmic hatred that poisons the soul. A long time ago I nearly succumbed to insanity from it but Barbatos played a melody on a flute and it cleared my head… I still remember that song." A few moments of silence passed and Huai'an lost himself in thoughts for a second. To think that Xiao had been accumulating so much on his shoulders. Huai'an was not well versed in adeptal arts or karmic hatred but he had glimpsed the weariness that had sometimes settled in Xiao's eyes. Stolen glances of him after being out all night and return covered in black ichor, dripping with exhaustion. He’d seen the shadows that swirled around his shoulders on the rare occasion he wasn't paying attention and felt the ominous aura from them. It was something he and Verr had discussed and worried over before. Huai'an silently sent out a prayer of thanks to Barbatos.

"I'll have to remember to send my thanks and prayers to Mondstats Archon then. Wangshu Inn wouldn't be the same without you around." Huai'an smiled softly at Xiao's responding scoff and attempted to shift the conversation to something more lighthearted.

"Ya know my wife, Verr is originally from Mondstat." The Inn owner said and Xiao blinked at him in surprise.

"I knew she wasn't Liyuen but I didn't know she was from Mondstat." There was surprise and interest in the Yakshas voice and he rubbed over the turquoise crystal vision on his wrist.

"Yeah, she has family down there actually. We visit them every couple of summers." Huai'an explained. Xiao hummed and nodded his head.

"I've never been to Mondstat before." The Adeptus said absently.

"Really?" The Inn owner asked.

"Hmm. I have never really been out of Liyue." Xiao said in response, his eyes tilting towards the ceiling. Huai'an smiled.

"Would you like me to tell you about it?" Xiao hesitated before scoffing and twirling his flute casually in his fingers and looking away. "Do as you wish."

"It's a pretty nice place, it's mostly fields and cliff faces, not nearly as many mountains as Liyue," Huai'an replied. "The buildings are made of bricks and there are lots of windmills. I suppose that's pretty fitting for the land of wind and song. And there's this big statue of Barbatos in the city plaza…" Huai'an continued to chatter endlessly about Mondstats renowned taverns and ale and gliding competitions. Everything he could remember his wife telling him of her childhood and what he himself had seen while visiting. Xiao nodded and hummed in appropriate places, showing he was listening. The conversation was mostly one-sided but Huai'an was fine with that and even though none of his terrible wind-based jokes got a laugh from Xiao the Adeptus at least indulged him in listening.

"Oh! Oh! What do you get when you cross an icy wind with feathers?" Huai'an asked once he was starting to run out of things to say about the land of freedom and Xiao blinked at him in confusion.

"....a brrrrrrrr'd!" Huai'an cackled and slapped his own knee when Xiao made a deadpan face at him.

"That was terrible." The Adeptus eventually said.

"Terribly perfect!" Huai'an countered. Xiao crossed his arms and ignored him, his nose turning up and away from the Inn owner and Huai'an doubled over in giggles again at Xiao’s reaction.

"Ah, but you said you've never left Liyue. Would you ever like to visit Mondstat?" Huai'an asked once he finally managed to catch his breath from laughing so much.

"I want-" Xiao's words cut off abruptly and a dull haze clouded his eyes. Huai'an felt worry creep through his mind at the shorter’s expression.

"You want?" Huai'an prompted, worrying increasing as the Yakshas shoulder sagged slightly and he looked away.

"Nothing..." Xiao paused. "I don't have desires." He finally replied with a serious expression on his face as he straightened up. Huai'an looked at Xiao. The Adeptus sat straight as a board and his eyes were full, his grip on his flute loosening and his lips pursing. No doubt Xiao was working himself up into an awful headspace. Huai’an’s frown deepened.

"It's not a bad thing to want something Xiao." He said carefully, he couldn't be sure how Xiao would react to this delicate string of conversation.

"That would be a waste of my time. A useless endeavor." Xiao's voice was tense and cold when he responded. Huai'an smiled with a worrying strain. What complete nonsense. But he'd have to deliver that gently to the Adeptus who was so painfully not human at this moment.

"Having desires isn't useless Xiao. It's a part of every living being. Desires, wants, hopes, dreams, ambitions! They give our lives meaning and light. They are the reason visions exist! The gods bestow their light and blessing on those whose soul reflects their desires and ambitions so strongly that it catches the Archon’s attention. So I know for a fact that you have them." Huai'an tapped at the small diamond crystal on Xiao’s wrist and Xiao blinked and retracted his hand away from his fingers, frowning.

"I am not able to have desires. This is merely an annoying jest that Barbatos bestowed on me." Xiao snapped as he gripped onto his gloved wrist where the anemo vision rested.

"Why not?"

"....what?" Wide golden eyes blinked at him and Huai'an hardened his own dark brown ones.

"Why can't you have desires, Xiao?" He asked again and Xiao's brows drew together and his eyes sharpened, a hint of a scowl coming through.

"And be honest with me. Please." Huai'an said softly but firmly after seeing Xiao start to prickle. The Adeptus was quiet and his shoulders shook slightly the longer he delved into his thoughts. Huai'an was just about to try and abort the conversation when Xiao finally responded.

"I don't...know. It just...feels wrong to want."

"But you do want?" Huai'an quickly followed up. Xiao remained quiet and his eyes found the floor, refusing to budge when Huai'an tilted his head to try and catch his gaze.

The Inn owner hummed and thought about his next response. The more time he spent with Xiao the more he started to understand him. And the more Huai'an started to understand, the less he liked the picture it painted. Had Xiao ever even had the thought that he could have desires? That he deserved care and affection and happiness? Maybe Xiao had never really known how to want something for himself, or at the very least he didn't remember how. His chest squeezed in sympathy. Huai'an couldn't fix those deep wounds carved into Xiao's soul, but he could help nudge Xiao in the right direction to heal them himself. He hoped he could at least.

"Xiao." He started and gently laid a hand on the shorter's back, right on the window of skin his shirt showed. Xiao startled and Huai'an gently rubbed small circles on the yakshas skin, brushing gently over old scars, until he settled down some.

"Why do you like playing the flute? Why do you want to play?" Xiao remained silent at his question and his shoulders started to rise slightly as his grip tightened on his instrument, eyes clouding with frustration. Huai'an could see the struggle to put thoughts into words and stepped in.

"You play because of how it makes you feel right?" Xiao looked up at him after he spoke, surprise filtering into his face. Huai'an smiled and patted his back before removing his hand.

"Desire and ambition is a very complex tangle of emotions. It can lead to pain and heartache and trials and adversities that make you feel like the world is against you at your feet but it's also one of the most rewarding things you will ever experience. Desire is what drives humans to achieve incredible things. To fight for the people and things they hold dear, to cry and scream when they are frustrated, and to push forward harder than they ever have to grasp what they want. It's a driving force that can inspire and create the most beautiful things or destroy and burn down entire nations.

"And it's not something that you have to be okay with and confront right away. It's a lot of big feelings, discovering yourself and changing like that. You can take it slow and just explore what you want to do and feel. I am always here to listen if you ever want to talk about it too…But forcing yourself to suppress your own wants and ambitions will only make you miserable in the long run." Huai'an made sure he kept eye contact with Xiao throughout his whole speech.

"You make a valid point...it still...doesn't feel right. Like I'm not supposed to." Xiao responded after several moments, his shoulders slumping. Huai'an smiled at him and gently tapped the end of his flute.

"That's alright. You'll get there. You just have to accept that you can get there." Xiao faced downwards pensively and his thumb gently brushed the flute in his hands.

"And how do you know that?" Xiao frowned at him and Huai'an would dare say that was almost a pout on Xiao’s face.

"Because I believe in you." Huai'an said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which to him it was. But Xiao needed that verbal reassurance and Huai'an was happy to give it to him.

"What a ridiculous notion." The Adeptus scoffed with no real venom in his voice and Huai'an laughed, the tension bleeding out from the emotional aspect their conversation had strayed to, and a more peaceful tone settling in its place.

"Woah! Your eyes are such a strange color!" Huai'an didn't have time to utter a word before he practically jumped several feet in the air at the new voice and Xiao spun around so quickly he almost fell from the counter. His jade polearm whirled into existence and nearly took Huai'ans head off as Xiao twirled it lightning fast to press against a young girl's throat. A startled shriek broke through her lips and Xiao growled at the teenager who had very rudely invaded his space. A tense silence fell over the three and all of them were deathly still. One terrified girl, one shocked Inn owner, and one very angry Adeptus. A young Fontainian girl who had been traveling with her mother had pranced up to the desk while both he and Xiao were distracted and got right up into Xiao’s space. Huai'an snapped back to attention, quickly swerving around to the outside of the desk and carefully pulled the girl backward, away from the sharp tip of the spear. Tears poured down her face and she released a breath she must have been holding. Xiao didn't move an inch, but his weapon lowered a few inches when Huai'an spoke.

"Easy there! She didn't mean any harm." He made sure to keep his voice calm and soft despite the panic and fear running through his head. Xiao's eyes widened and his polearm lowered completely as he stared at the face of the freckled girl he had scared the daylights out of. The girl sobbed loudly in fright and Xiao flinched backward, a hand coming to his mouth and his brows trembling.

"I-I just wanted to get a closer look!" She stuttered and Huai'an gently patted her back trying to calm her down. He looked up to say something to Xiao to diffuse the situation but the Adeptus was already scrambling to leap back up into the rafters with his demonic-looking mask firmly in place over his face.

"Xiao!" Huai'an called out but the boy was already disappearing over the support beam and Huai'an faltered as the girl wailed loudly and clung onto his robes and he glanced one more time at the rafters before shushing the girl and trying to explain and calm her down. It took nearly a quarter of an hour and lots of words of comfort but the girl finally calmed down enough that Huai'an could properly scold her for sneaking up on someone and invading their space without permission. The teenager was a mess of tears and embarrassed apologies when he eventually sent her on her way back to her room. Huai'an sighed and turned back to the desk and looked up to see the smallest hint of lilac-colored fabric from Xiao's sleeve over the rafters.

"Xiao?" Huai'an called. "It's okay, she's gone. Can you come down?" There was no response. Huai'an knocked his knuckles again and Xiao’s sleeve shifted slightly but he did not come down or even look down. Huai'an decided not to push any further, lest he aggravate Xiao's already frayed nerves. A tight tremor rooted itself in Huai'ans chest and the bad feeling he had earlier returned in full force. He called up to let Xiao know he could come down again when he was ready. And so he went back about his duties at the desk, keeping an ear out above him in case Xiao came around. Icy worry kept his foot tapping place and a perpetual arch to his brows though as he went about monitoring the desk while the winds raged outside and battered against the walls. No soft music notes floated down from the rafters this time and Huai'an worried in tense silence.

________________

Unknown to Huai'an, the Conqueror of Demons sat high above him, barely breathing with his knees pressed to his chest and mask pushed up to the side of his head. Gloved hands pressed into his mouth hard enough to bruise as violent sobs were suppressed quietly and burning eyes were closed tightly. Emotions squeezed his throat tight and Xiao trembled horribly as he carefully tucked away the swarming mess of thoughts as far back into his head as they would go, and ignored the searing hot waves of emotions churning in his chest. Somewhere inside something cracked and chipped off, crumbling into a hollow aching cavern in his mind.

__________________

It took almost an entire 2 days for Xiao to finally come out of hiding. And that meant he was back to tuning and playing his flute above Huai'ans head and skulking around the kitchens. Xiao had refused to budge from the rafter, even for almond tofu. Not even Tia's gentle and childish insistence to come see the drawing she had done for him had gotten him to move, and the little girl had run off in tears with Verr quickly following to run damage control. But he had eventually slinked down to help Smiley in the kitchen the afternoon a couple of days later and had been back to lounging above the desk. The Adeptus had been more withdrawn and distant than usual, but he did respond now when someone called him down.

Huai'an toiled about the Inn and manned the desk periodically, silently concerned as he caught glimpses of Xiao here and then. While he was responsive again he still refused to talk to anyone since yesterday's scare, which had obviously affected Xiao deeper than the surface level, and the Inn owner had become rather familiar with a tight coil of worry poking his stomach. Huai'an had brought up his concerns to Verr and she had expressed similar worries, noticing Xiao's subdued state. They had both agreed to keep a tighter grip on their security and handling of the future in the hope to prevent any more incidents like this. Huangshan was now posted as a guard full time in the lobby, with another one of the inner circle of staff consisting of Smiley, Yuhua, and themselves, relieving her at night. Guests had been notified that any attempt at getting close to Xiao would result in immediate removal from the Inn, storm or no storm. The politely delivered threat of being thrown out in the snow had scared most of the guests into backing down from their escapades and nosy endeavors but some still remained quietly persistent. Unfortunately, they couldn't just toss someone out for letting their eyes wander a little too long around the lobby, but Huangshans fiery glare had been a good enough deterrent to those that hadn't completely given up on the idea of coming into contact with the divine.

The lobby had also been revoked its common space privileges, seeing as Xiao much preferred the high ceilings and well-hidden rafters there. Guests were now only allowed to pass through or inquire about amenities at the desk but were prohibited from loitering. The lessened traffic and presence of other people had probably been what had gotten Xiao to slowly come back around. Huai'an had a plan today though! Xiao was undoubtedly feeling cooped up and some fresh air away and open space would do some good for him and Huai'an could definitely appreciate a second pair of hands around while he boarded up the entrances to the balconies of the Inn. Huai'an smiled at Verr, who was attending to the desk, as he approached the desk.

"Is it already time for a shift change?" The boss asked and Huai'an shook his head.

"No, not for another hour, I was wondering if I could borrow Xiao for a bit?" He pitched his voice louder at the end of his sentence and the flute music cut off above him. A few seconds passed and Huai'an smirked and spoke again to Verr in a louder voice than needed.

"I am still working on boarding up the entrances to the balconies and exits, and I could use an extra pair of hands. You think Xiao would be willing to help me out?" Verr stifled a giggle behind her hand and didn’t respond. A few moments passed before Xiao dropped to the ground in a silent crouch.

"Ah, Xiao! Perfect timing! Would you be willing to come to help me out?" Huai'an turned to the Adeptus and a sharp sting pinched his heart at the sight of him. Xiao looked, for lack of a better word, haunted. With the beginnings of dark circles under eyes of dull gold, and a pale pallor to his skin. The changes were subtle enough that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking at Xiao but they were there all the same. Xiao took a few moments, blinking slowly before nodding his head in assent to his request, hardly aware it seemed and Huai'an smiled tightly. Xiao appeared to be going through the motions, as they say, and Huai'an felt his chest constricting in worry and sympathy.

"Let's go then. We have a lot of work to get through." Verr quickly stepped around the desk after Huai'an had spoken to step up to her tiptoes and pressed a warm kiss to his cheek. Huai'an smiled as a rose hue flushed up to his cheeks, holding a hand to his face and trying to keep himself from giggling like a schoolboy. Verr squeezed his arm and stepped away, turning to Xiao, who wasn't paying her much mind. Xiao looked up as his wife got closer and honey-colored eyes widened when Verr dropped a kiss to Xiao's hair on the top of his head.

"Don’t work too hard you two, I'll come to bring you some tea later." Verr stroked over the Adeptus head softly as she spoke. It seems his clever wife knew just the best medicine to nudge Xiao out of whatever headspace he had dug himself into as the Yaksha's eyes regained some of their shine and he blushed bright red, averting said eyes to the floor.

Oh, Archons. Why hadn’t they had kids yet?

Huai’an smiled at his stunning wife, who winked back at him, and gently pat Xiao’s shoulder, nudging him towards the balcony entrance (that was already half-finished due to Huai'ans earlier work), snagging the jacket Juhua had left hanging on the rack by the opening. Once outside Huai'an shivered and clutched his heavy coat tighter to his body. Looking over at Xiao he sighed and shook his head, moving closer he draped the spare coat over Xiao’s shoulders. The anemo Adeptus jumped and his hands came up to touch the material.

"I don’t need it." He said, frowning at the Inn owner.

"Humor me?" Huai'an replied, his voice exasperated but fond. After a few moments of staring contest that Huai'an was sure he would lose if Xiao held out any longer, the Adeptus looked away and slipped his arms through the coat. The coat was a dark navy blue with brass-colored ties and the sleeves were just slightly too long on him but enough to hinder his movements. Xiao didn’t tie the coat shut Huai'an silently thanked the deceased geo archon that he had kept it on at all.

Small Mercies.

Huai'an picked up the hammer he had left there when he was working here earlier and carefully used his shoulder as leverage to shift a board of wood up to the right position.

"Can you hold this in place here while I nail it down?" He asked and Xiao nodded, gloved hands coming to rest against the plank so Huai'an could step back and pick up a nail to secure it.

“All of this seems rather overkill.” Xiao spoke as Huai’an carefully went about securing down the board to the other that was already up. Huai’an hummed.

“Maybe, but I’d rather be over-prepared than caught by surprise. Liyue has not seen weather like this in decades after all.” Xiao shook his head in response.

“Longer than decades, actually.” he replied. Huai’an paused and looked over at Xiao.

“Really?” “Over a century since it was so cold, and even then it was the result of an elemental poison from a fallen god.” Xiao told him, stooping to pick up the next board. Huai’an scrambled to continue their work. It was so easy to forget that Xiao was a centuries-old guardian spirit, he looked and acted so young. Huai’an didn’t think he would ever fully grasp that image of the Adeptus. He had spent too much time around Xiao now that his image of him was so skewed...Maybe it was a bad thing that he was becoming immune to the divine.

“It truly will be a scary sight. If it means keeping everyone safe, then a little bit of over-preparation seems necessary, don’t you think?” Huai’an asked the shorter beside him. Xiao paused.

“Yes...safe.” A familiar dull haze clouded Xiao’s eyes and Huai’an frowned at the look that entered Xiao's features. It was a look of pain and such terrible sorrow. A complicated mix and one Huai’an had experienced himself in his lowest points. It was masked over with a cold blank face in seconds but Huai’an had seen it. The deep hopelessness and self-loathing pouring into Xiao’s eyes. The way his shoulder tensed ever so slightly and his jaw clenched. Huai’an had a feeling he knew exactly what Xiao was thinking. Huai’an couldn't know for certain, but from what little Xiao had already told him and his own Intuition, Xiao was carrying a lot of pain and suffering in his heart. Whether the result of his own mind or outside forces was a messy question but Huai’an could see how it weighed on him no matter how much the Anemo user tried to conceal it behind a stony exterior. Walls held up and built so high and thick to protect himself that he hardly ever let anything shine through or anyone peak behind them. And he wasn’t having any of it.

“Xiao!” Huai’an exclaimed, startling the poor spaced out Yaksha beside him into dropping the board he was holding. “There will be none of that young sir!” Huai’an brow pinched as he spoke and he leveled Xiao with as intimidating a stare as he could muster...which wasn’t much comparatively but it got his point across. Xiao gasped, his face scrunching and his eyes narrowing.

“Such disrespect! You dare speak to me that way-”

“Yes, I dare!” Huai’an put his hands on his hips. Xiao stuttered and glared with a gaze like molten steel. Oh if looks could kill, but Huai’an refused to wither under the disgruntled Yaksha’s stare.

“None of that self-deprecation I can see swimming around in your head!” The Inn owner reached out and flicked the Adeptus in the forehead, right on the purple diamond mark there, causing Xiao to reel back with a hand held to the spot, a noise of surprise choking out from his throat. Xiao stared at him with an incredulous look.

“What would you know-!”

“I know enough!” Huai’an interrupted him again, and Xiao practically hissed at him, shadows gathering on his shoulders but Huai’an wasn't done.

“What happened the other day was not your fault! That young lady was out of line and she broke the rules. She invaded your space and it was wrong of her, you had a right to be upset and react the way you did. You are not to blame for her behavior. There is absolutely no reason for you to be blamed for any of that. If anything she hurt your feelings first and disrespected your boundaries without asking.” Huai’an scolded the anemo Adeptus in front of him, who had started to look more subdued than angry as his speech went on.

“...I scared her.” Xiao looked down, his hand coming to rest on his position arm in a pose that betrayed just how insecure he felt.

“Yes, you did.” Huai’an replied and Xiao flinched into himself.

“But she scared you first.” That got Xiao to look up at him. Huai’an sighed and put a hand on Xiaos' shoulder.

“It's okay that you reacted the way you did, you were startled. If you want you can apologize to her for frightening her, but she should apologize to you as well.” Huai’an said, catching Xiao's eyes, which squinted at him with an uncomfortable pinch.

“I know an apology doesn't make all those feelings just disappear, but it's a start. A step in the right direction….It’s okay to feel bad but please...don't demonize yourself. You deserve forgiveness from yourself.” Huai’an pleaded, trying to get his point across. Xiao was silent for several moments, processing. He didn't look like he entirely believed Huai’an but he was listening and that was a good enough start.

“You are...surprisingly perceptive.” He said once he had gathered his thoughts.

“I get that sometimes.” Huai’an smiled and let go of Xiao to pick up his hammer again. “I just want you to be okay. You look pretty haggard since the other day.”

“...” Huai’an could practically see the question mark appear above Xiao’s head and he held in a snort at the adorable expression. Who had ever thought that Huai’an would see a tormented illuminated beat as cute?

“There are shadows under your eyes. You look like you haven't slept in days.” The Inn owner explained.

“I haven't,” Xiao said coolly. Huai’an nearly dropped his hammer and nails.

“You...haven't slept?” He asked. Xiao shook his head, soft hair swishing around his face.

“No. Adepti do not require sleep.” A thought occurred to Huai’an then.

“Are you incapable of sleeping?”

“I am physically able to sleep, l but I do not require it to survive as you do. Sleeping is...never a pleasant experience for me, and I don't need it anyway so I don't see a point in it.” Xiao said and shifted the board he was holding higher, Huai’an absent-mindedly lining up the nail with it.

“There is always a room for you if you ever wish to sleep.” Huai’an said and hoped his gaze was warm enough to persuade the Adeptus. Xiao may not need to sleep physically, it couldn't hurt him any to get some rest, especially right now.

“I will...keep that in mind.” Xiao looked over at him, his voice smooth and his eyes warming up a little. Huai’an smiled at him and they both went back to work in comfortable silence for a few moments. Huai’an eventually found himself chattering about whatever popped into his head to fill the space as they worked seamlessly at boarding up the balcony entrances. Eventually finishing and moving onto the next area that needed attention. Slowly, Huai’an could see Xiao’s walls start to lower down as he hummed along and listened to Huai’ans idle chatter as he prattled on about how they had come to acquire Wei, their cat that lounged around the Inn. He hopped from interesting topics to stories he had tucked away in his head and Xiao even started responding verbally after a few stories. Injecting his own input here and there and even sharing a rather humorous story about Ganyu and Cloud retainer. Xiao was still far from talkative but he was engaging and Huai’an was happy enough for that.

Altogether it was a rather pleasant afternoon and they had gotten most of the work done that they needed. All that was really left was the main entry that led into the lobby and the Inn would officially be completely closed up. But Huai’an would save that for the next day, to allow any last-minute outside trips to take place. Huai’an would almost count this day as a win. They were just finishing up the last of the windows on the second floor when things took a very sour turn. A group of 3 scraggly adventurers saddled up to Xiao and Huai’an, all rather large men and the one at the front particularly off-putting. They all wore tattered clothes and had a rather...unpleasant aroma to them.

“Hey, bellboy!” The one at the front, a large red-headed brute, called to Huai’an and the man felt his brow twitch at the title. Whether an insult or a mistake, the tone delivery made it clear he was dealing with some rather unsavory types. If their filthy and rugged appearance wasn't enough to give that away that is. Huai’an subtly slid himself in front of Xiao, a service worker's smile sliding easily onto his face out of habit.

“Hello, gentleman. Can I help you with something?” Huai’an kept his smile right in place and his body mostly blocking their view of Xiao. Call him paranoid but he was just getting Xiao to relax after the other day and he wasn't taking any chances.

“It’s fucking cold! We’re freezin in our boots over here. Do somethin bout it, will ya?” The “leader” spoke harshly and Huai’ans smile slipped a little at his foul language.

“I am sorry to hear that. There are blankets and warming bottles available at the desk if that will help and I might suggest staying inside? After all, it's only going to get colder the next few days.” He made sure to keep his tone even and smooth. Huai’an had worked in hospitality for years and he knew when someone was looking for a reason to complain rather than having an actual issue.

“Arent ya supposed to make sure I am comfortable and happy here huh? Such a lackluster effort you’re putting in here!” The man replied, hands on his hips and indignantly scoffing at Huai’an. The other two moved closer, slinking around Huai’an to try and encircle him. Huai’an stepped back, bumping into Xiao, who he could practically feel the contempt pouring off of. No doubt he wasn't fond of being pushed and prodded out of the way like a damsel in distress but he hasn't tried to push away or step out from behind him yet so Huai’an kept his stance firm.

“I'm sorry to hear you are unsatisfied with your stay-”

“Aye, I am unsatisfied!” The man interrupted and shoved Huai’an in his shoulder. The inn owner just barely managed to keep from toppling over onto Xiao behind him at the force and he heard the Anemo Adeptus growl behind him, probably in warning at the men more than at Huai’an for stumbling, but Huai’an held firm and faced the men in front of him with a scowl.

“That conduct is uncalled for and unacceptable sir. You will calm down and speak to me with respect or there will be consequences.” He squared his shoulders and folded his hands politely in front of him.

“Consequences for what? We’re just lookin for a little accommodation here!” Was the response Huai’an received from the man standing to his left, a blonde that had a nasty scar running along his face, who sneered at him with pure contempt.

“Yeah, Bellboy.” Huai'an’s head snapped around behind him where a fourth man, one much smaller and lighter than the others, had slinked up behind him and Xiao, and the Inn owner felt his nerves alight like fire in him and the very pressing need to get that man away from Xiao. The man continued before Huai’an could even make a move towards him.

“The least ya could do is give us someone to keep us company on those cold nights~” And that man's hand came up to drag up Xiaos' arm, tracing the side of his face and twirling a lock of hair around grubby fingers. The Yaksha froze, a look of disgust and shock on his face and the thin man behind him licked over his yellow teeth while his eyes roamed over Xiaos' form. Xiao growled at the man and shadows gathered around his shoulders.

Nope. Not today. Not happening.

Huai’an’s hand shot out, grabbing a handful of the man's coat, ripping him away from Xiao, and practically tossing him into his companions. Huai’an was thankful the man was so short and thin or he might not have been able to do that. The man let out an indignant shout and the other three caught him before they all fell over. Huai’an faced the men in front of him, this time making sure Xiao’s coat sleeve was grasped in his hand and the guardian was pressed close to himself behind him.

“That's ENOUGH!” Huai’an yelled, catching all of their attention. “Your behavior is completely deplorable. You will either act respectfully towards me and my guests or you will leave my Inn this instance and take your chances with the storm!” Huai’an had had quite enough of this and was sorely tempted to just throw them out altogether for their disgusting behavior.

“You can't throw us out like that!” One of the men protested and Huai’an narrowed his eyes.

“Watch me!” He said, sneering at them.

“What's going on out here?!” The concerned and stern face of his wife appeared as she ran out behind them, Huangshan following with a slight limp.

“We was just askin’ for some help when this maniac threatened to throw us out! You are running a pretty unreasonable business here lady!” the blonde one piped up, helping his thin friend off the ground. Verr glanced over at him and Huai’an shook his head, eyes hardening. The Boss cleared her throat and stood tall.

“Gentleman, you will be allowed to stay for the duration of the storm.” The boss said.

“Finally someone with some sense!” The largest redheaded one said, dusting off the snow that had gotten onto his coat.

“As soon as the storm passes, you will be leaving however and you will not be permitted to return to this Inn or to the Harbour proper.” Verr Goldet said with a note of finality and a customer-friendly smile in place on her lips. The man scoffed and stuttered, affronted, and Huai’an thanked his lucky stars that verr had understood the look in his eyes.

“You don't understand-!”

“Oh I may not have seen whatever situation took place here unfold but I understand perfectly well that my husband would not threaten to throw you out unless it was serious. So I have no doubt about my decision.” Verr interrupted him.

“You can't banish us from the harbor!” The thin man spoke up this time.

“I think you will find that I can. This is a business that is owned by the Qixing and I am sure once I explain today's events, whatever they may be, that the Qixing will agree with me on this. Now, Huangshan here will escort you back to your rooms. And if you stir up any more trouble we will not hesitate to let the snows and monsters in the marsh decide your fate.” Verr said and Huai'an couldn't be any more thankful for this wonderful woman in his life.

“Now get moving.” The Boss’s voice lowered and she frowned at the disgruntled men. They gathered themselves up and moved a little quicker when Hunagshan nudged them with the dull end of her blade.

“I knew those 4 would be trouble. Huangshan had an issue with one of them a while ago. I don't regret throwing them out.” Verr sighed and turned to where Huai’an and Xiao were composing themselves. Now that he had a moment he turned to Xiao and concern immediately swept through him like a cold wave. The Adeptus was shaking and holding his face with one hand, the other clenched in a fist at this side. He looked like he could barely breathe and Huai’ans concern immediately morphed into cold terrifying worry.

“Xiao are you alright-” Huai’an started, reaching out. The shorter flinched back.

“I wish to….to wash my face.” And Xiao quickly shed the coat he was wearing, pushing it into Verrs hands as he passed and slipped back into theInn, disappearing around a corner.

“Xiao!” Huai’an called out as Xiao ran swiftly and Huai’an sighed, his brows pinching upon his face as he turned to his wife, who wore a similar expression with Yuhua’s spare coat clenched in her hands.

“What happened?” Verr’s soft voice and hand on his arm drew his gaze to her.

“Honey, we have a problem.” Huai’an saw the way his wife’s brow furrowed and he curled his hand around hers.

“Come on, let's talk inside.” And he gently tugged her inside. He quickly noticed that she had abandoned the desk in her haste to check on them and he led them back over to it. Traffic through the lobby was almost non-existent right now so it should be fine to talk there. Huai’an sighed and launched into a retelling of the events that took place, slowly watching the horror spread on his wife’s features.

"Those animals!" Verr exclaimed, fury coating her tone.

"Believe me, I feel the same way." Huai'an responded, a sigh leaving him. He suddenly felt exhausted. Huai’an honestly thought that they should have tossed those ruffians out first thing. Let them take their chances in the snows, they didn’t belong here or anywhere near Huai’an, his wife, or Xiao. Huai’an was getting angry just thinking about it. Disgusting. But his wife had been a voice of reason. They couldn’t just abandon people right now, everyone needed help and support and a safe place to stay till this weather p[assed and despite Huai’an and Verr’s very vehement reservations, the men would be allowed to stay till the storm passed. Not a second longer though and they would be sure of it. If they caused any other issues they would be thrown out immediately, storm or no storm. They were not taking any other chances with them.

Verr opened her mouth to respond, anger still painting her features, but swallowed her words when Xiao appeared coming down the stairs. The couple was silent as Xiao walked up to them. He didn't acknowledge either of them as he clambered up onto the desk, preparing to leap into the rafters.

"Xiao." Verr reached out placed a hand on his arm, but the Adeptus coldly brushed her hand off, not even looking at either of them and bounded up to the rafters.

"I'll talk to him," Verr whispered and Huai'an nodded.

"Let me know how it goes. I'll finish up the balconies." He said and kissed her sweetly before reluctantly leaving her side.

Verr was not able to talk to Xiao it seemed. Several hours later, Huai'an had returned to the desk for shift change. Verr had shaken her head and sighed. Xiao had refused to speak to her. Huai'an had tried on his shift as well. But with no results. Xiao refused to come down or respond to them, Yuhua and Huangshan had also tried. Smiley had tried to tempt him down with sweets. But the Adeptus had been completely disconsolate over the next two days. Huai’an could barely even catch a glimpse of him as Xiao had refused to budge from his perch in the rafter and all the staff worried in silent glances and nervous fidgeting while trying to get him to speak or even show himself. Huai’an had been just about ready to climb up there himself and haul him down by his shirt. Verr had dissuaded that idea, as unserious as it was. Forcing him would more than likely only make Xiao receded further into himself.

The Inn owner had watched Xiao deteriorate from the small glimpses he could catch of him from down below and was starting to go a little insane with worry, as were the rest of the staff. Even Xi, the maid, had noticed and asked after Xiao's well-being. It seemed they couldn't catch a break recently with Xiao. With the scare at the beginning of the week and then this. Huai’an’s heart was so torn watching Xiao suffer and being somehow powerless to stop. Even when he had tried to give the Adeptus a break from the stress things had gone terribly. Things had been going so well too. Just days ago Xiao was accepting kisses on the head from Verr and actually engaging in conversation and shaking his head at Huai’ans awful jokes. He really hoped this all had not set Xiao too far back into his reclusiveness. A dark oppressive feeling pressed against the Inns walls and the winds howled outside. Huai’an’s gut squeezed in dread as he and the other staff mindlessly worked to prepare and constantly tried to interact with Xiao when they could. Huai’an had a bad feeling. Everything coalesced the next day when the storm hit the Inn full force. It was early evening and the cold had become crushing in a way that penetrated even Huai’ans thickest coat and seeped through the walls to the point that it was hard to keep comfortable even inside.

Verr and himself had agreed to shut down all facilities for the night that the storm would be the worst and they warned the guests not to leave their room except for emergencies. Most of the staff would be sleeping down in the kitchen to be easily accessible to help anyone that needed and be able to respond to any emergencies efficiently. Huai’an was just closing down the desk and locking everything up when he figured he would try one more time. “Xiao? Would you come down by any chance?” He gently knocked his hand on the wood of the wall behind the desk. He doubted Xiao would listen or even acknowledge him but he wouldn’t give up.

The Adeptus surprised him this time when he dropped over the side of the beam he was on, wobbling on his crouched landing on the ground behind the desk. Rather than correcting himself and standing up, Xiao slunk down and curled up to sit on the ground tucked underneath the desk. Knees pulled up to his chest and he rested his chin on them, back pressed into the wood. He just barely fit sitting upright underneath the desk surface. Xiao’s skin was pale as a sheet and dark circles ringed his eyes so harshly they looked like bruises. His hair was mussed and his outfit wrinkled. Xiao looked like he just rolled out of bed with a bad cold but what had Huai’ans heart rate spiking was the guardian’s face. His eyes were dull and devoid of shine or light or anything. A blank stare matched his blank expression and he stayed deathly still. Huai’an kneeled down and waved his hand in front of Xiao’s face.

No response. Not even a twitch.

“Xiao?” Huai’an placed a hand on Xiaos' shoulder as he spoke. The Adeptus didn't even look at him. Panic started to settle in his throat and cloud his mind at the lack of response and awareness from Xiao. Huai’an was going to need some backup for this, Xiao was completely despondent.

“Xiao? I am going to go get Verr, okay? I'll be right back.” Huai’an kept his tone soft and grabbed one of the spare blankets under the desk, draping it over Xiao's shoulders with care. Xiao did not respond but after a moment, his hand came up to grasp at the blanket weakly. Huai’an took that as a good sign and carefully slipped away from the desk. He swept past Huangshan escorting someone out of the lobby and towards the hallways and took the stairs two at a time up to the second floor where he knew his wife was checking over all the windows and making sure Guests were comfortable. He made it up to the top of the stairs and a quick scan of the hallway revealed the Boss of the Inn carefully tugging on boards by a window and checking over nails.

“Verr!” Huai’an jogged up to her, out of breath from his sprint up the stairs. Burnt orange eyes widened seeing his disheveled and worried state.

“It's Xiao.” And that was all he needed to say because then Verr was pulling him along back down towards the desk with a worried tension lining her shoulders. They ran into Huangshan outside the lobby, who was coming back from her escort and was instantly worried upon sight of them and followed them back into the lobby. The sight that greeted them was one that had anger souring his stomach and the already intense worry he felt increasing at a rapid pace. A stock blonde-haired woman was kicking at the bottom of the desk with a helped boot hard enough to shake the furniture and screaming as loud as her lungs would allow her to.

“Come out! I know you are back there, I can hear you breathing!” The woman enunciated the last of her sentence with a particularly hard kick that sent pens on the desk rattling. Huai’an and Verr quickly intercepted her, with Verr slipping around behind the desk and Huai’an catching the woman's attention by stepping in front of her. Huai’an had worked with people nearly all his life but he had never had more trouble maintaining a customer-friendly demeanor than he did right now.

“Ma’am! Is there an issue here?” Huai’an asked and folded his hands in front of him, trying to appear peaceful to the red-faced and very upset woman.

“Yes! There is! Mainly with the fact that you let a dangerous being run loose around here! There are children and families staying here for Archon’s sake and this isn't safe!” The woman shrieked, shaking her fist in the Inn owner's face. Verr stayed quiet behind the desk, acting as a physical deterrent as she stood right in front of where Xiao was hidden.

“Mother..” The meak voice of a young girl behind the woman drew Huai’ans attention for a moment while the woman huffed and screamed at him. The little Fontanin teenager from the beginning of the week tugged at her mother’s sleeve.

“Please just let it go, it's no big deal…” The girl pleaded with her livid mother.

“Hush dear, the adults are talking.” The woman shook off her daughter and the girl whimpered and stepped back further behind her parent.

“Ma’am, please calm down so we can talk about this-'' Huai'an tried to soothe the woman's anger to explain this misunderstanding but was cut off when the woman slammed her hand down on the desk.

"No! I won't hear any excuses! That monster came after my daughter and I demand you do something about it!” She yelled and stomped her foot. Huai’an felt his grip on his temper slipping.

“He is not a monster! He is an Adeptus, and he belongs here!” The woman huffed at his statement.

“Ma’am, The Apedti are Liyue’s protectors and an important part of our culture and history. Please be respectful of that.” Verr injected coolly, but Huai’an knew her well enough to hear the underlying tone of fury in her voice. Smiley and Yuhua appeared from the kitchens at the racket that had been kicked up and was standing by at the other end of the room. A few more guests whose rooms were close by had also come peeking out to investigate the scene the woman was making.

“Are you kidding me? That thing has no place among civilized people! That rabid beast should have died off with this nation's useless Archon. That demon probably wreaks havoc everywhere it goes! I can't believe you actually let him near you let alone actually defend him. You Liyuens need a reality check if you think that inhuman monster is something of the divine!" The woman ended her diatribe and Huai’an swore he saw red at her words.

“Ma’am!” Verr yelled, stepping around the desk and in front of the woman. Getting between her and Huai’an. A good thing too cause Huai’an might have just struck her in the face if Verr hadn't stepped in.

“By the authority placed upon me by the Liyue Qixing you are under arrest. Huangshan! Please escort her back to her room. You will be confined there until it is safe enough to transport you to the Harbour where you will face judgment by the Ministry of civil affairs.” A few muffled gasps resounded from the guests that had gathered in the lobby and murmuring rose up around them.

“W-What? On what grounds!?” The woman sputtered.

“Disrespecting or slandering the Adepti of Liyue is considered a felony and you have thoroughly disrespected my staff as well. You are lucky I am not throwing you out into the storm!” Verr Goldet held her head high as the woman cried and screamed as Huangshan, and Smiley, who had come to assist, bodily led her away from the lobby towards the stairs, her sniffling daughter trailing after her.

The simmering heat of Huai’ans anger was suddenly very quickly overtaken by his worry as he and Verr rounded the desk to where Xiao was still tucked up underneath it, in the exact same position Huai’an had left him. Huai’an crouched down on Xiao's left side with Verr to his right.

“Xiao? Are you alright?” His wife asked, trying to get the Yakshas' attention. Golden eyes were more aware than they had been earlier and Huai’an could have sworn. There was no way Xiao hadn't overheard that mess.

“Xiao?” He questioned and got no response. Huai’an popped up from his position on the floor.

“Yuhua! Clear the lobby please!” Huai’an called to the waitress trying to keep his voice from shaking. He crouched back down to where Verr was now carding her hand through Xiao's hair and speaking softly to him. Huai’an reached out and placed a hand on Xiao's back and Xiao’s eyes became glassy, tears welling up in the corners and a red hue rising to his face. Huai’an was taken aback at the sight and Verr held a hand to her mouth, her own eyes misting.

“…” Verr was quiet as her arm slipped from his hair to his back and that was when Xiao reacted. The Adeptus wiggled out of their arms and vaulted himself smoothly over the desk, slipping up the stairs.

“Xiao!” Huai’an stumbled to his feet and followed after the speedy anemo Adeptus, his wife hot on his heels. Huai’an made it to the top of the staircase and just managed to catch sight of Xiao’s slim frame squeezing between a gap in the board that led to the uppermost balcony. Huai’an kicked in the bottom-most board, silently lamenting his hard work ruined and made enough room for Verr to crawl through on her hands and knees. A few more well-aimed kicks caved in another board and Huai’an was able to fit his own broad shoulders through, his wife helping him to his feet on the other side. Huai’an covered his eyes from the violent snow and winds that whirled around him in a cacophony of noise that assaulted his senses.

The howling winds pierced through his coat with no mercy and Huai’an could feel snow and frost gather instantly on his mustache and eyebrows. Thunder boomed above their heads and lightning flashed through the thick flurries of snow around them. Huai’an flinched as lightning spread through the clouds to strike a tree not even half a mile off from the Inn. Verr grabbed on his arm to steady herself from the onslaught, wrapping around him for support and Huai’an wrapped his arm around her waist. Huai’an called out to Xiao, fighting to be heard over the wind and Xiao halted his retreating steps, now only several feet away near the railing of the balcony.

“Leave me alone!” The Adeptus’ arms wrapped around himself and his voice shakily carried back to them.

“Xiao! Please! Talk to us!” Verr called out and tightened her grip on Huai’an’s arm.

“There’s nothing to talk about!” Hey yelled back, a strangled sob that was barely heard over the storm slipped out of him and Huai’ans heart felt like lead when he heard it.

“That's obviously not true dear! Please let us help!” Verr shouted and Huai’an nudged her shoulder to start making slow progress across the balcony through knee-deep snow, the darkness and strong winds not doing them any favors.

“That woman was out of line and what she said wasn't true!” Huai’an called out this time and he and Verr continued making headway through the mess of winds and thunder to reach their very distraught Adeptus.

“It was!” Huai’an halted as they were now close enough to touch Xiao. The Yaksha choked on his own breath before continuing.

“Everything she said was true! I ruin everything I touch!” Xiao spun around to face them as he spoke, icy tears clinging to his face.

“Xiao…” Huai’an said, no longer needing to shout with how close they were, and reached a hand out and Xiao flinched back, shoulders curling inwards.

“Stay back!” The Adeptus whimpered more than shouted and staggered back a few steps. Huai’an’s hand snapped back to his person and his own eyes stung with hurt. A strangled sound left Xiao's lips and his shoulders shook the more he spoke. “Don't you get it?! The blood on my hands, the things I have done, my debt! Even if I am capable of change I don't deserve it!” The couple watched in stunned and concerned silence as Xiao sobbed and bent over nearly in half in front of them, breath hitching and seizing in his chest.

“I have destroyed thousands of lives! Eaten people’s dreams and hopes and took their happiness and joy from them! I am a curse to everyone I come in contact with, even when I try to be good, to protect everyone, I still hurt people!” Xiao cried and Huai’an could barely focus on the wind picking up stronger and nearly taking him and Verr off their feet with how much his very soul ached at seeing Xiao’s torment being laid before him.

Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to hold this trembling boy in front of him and try and soothe all the hurt that was twisting his youthful features, but Xiao wouldn't let him. Xiao was hurting so much and somehow it was so much worse than Huai'an had ever thought. Xiao was a protector, he hurt and suffered so others didn't have to and he carried that on top of everything he was holding onto personally. He was suffering in silence in ways Huai'an would never understand and had been doing so for Archons knows how long. Centuries probably. And now all that pain and emotion was cracking through Xiao's detached and aloof facade like bloody fissures and bleeding out of him in waves of tears. Huai'an could cry at the things Xiao had been through and he more than likely hardly knew even half of it!

Verr gasped beside him, her nails digging into his coat enough to feel on his skin as Xiao fell apart at the seams in front of them. Thunder boomed right above their head and the snow whirled around them viciously like it was responding to Xiao's cries.

"I am no different than the beasts I slay in the marsh…" Xiao paused to scrub harshly at his eyes as he wept and his shoulders shook with sobs.

"I wish Rex Lapis had never saved me!"

Xiao wailed loudly before a thunderous crack popped through all of their eardrums and the balcony lit up in the night with a white-hot flash like the brightest lantern. Huai'an registered Verr scream as electricity whizzed over his head and he kept a death grip on her as the very air around them shook with energy. Something hot and bright and fast zapped over his head like a bolt and hit the tree that supported the Inn behind him with a force that made his teeth rattle. Fire erupted from the branches instantly and the wood groaned and creaked with an awful volume as one of the biggest branches splintered slowly from its source, wood spraying into the air above them. Smoke clouded his throat as the massive branch topped towards him sickenly fast.

"Look out!" Verr shoved him out of the way and dove across the balcony to avoid the gargantuan tree that hit the balcony full force, tearing through the lacquered wooden floor and foundations. Snow flew through the air and Huai'an scrambled as close to the other side of the balcony as he could, calling out to his wife who had done the same in the opposite side, barely enough room for her to stand on what was left if the far side of the balcony and the shaking support beams underneath her made Huai'an incredibly nervous. The branch that had been struck by the storm's wrath was still hanging on to the tree and dangling down where it had torn right through Xiao's balcony, utterly destroying it. Huai'an looked up at Xiao, standing still as stone right where he was before, he hadn't even twitched at the carnage that had taken place mere inches from his feet. Huai'an stood on shaky feet just in time too. Xiao looked at him slowly, glossy eyes blurring with tears. Golden eyes rolled back in his head as consciousness slipped from him and Xiao's form crumbled to the snow-covered ground.

"Xiao!" Huai'an reached out and just barely caught the guardian before he hit the deck, holding him up as best he could. The wind had ceased almost completely, like Barbatos himself was shocked at the turn of events and snow fell around them peacefully over the destruction they stood in. Verr gasped across from him, her arms wrapped around what was left of the railing like a vice. Huai'an stared at her in shock, her expression mirroring his as the scared and fearful cries of guests and staff echoed from the Inn behind them and he held Xiao's dead weight in his arms.

Huai'an had never been good at handling emotional situations.

Chapter Text

Verr Goldet's mind wandered as she lazily stroked through the soft fur of Wei. The Wangshu Inn’s resident cat was a great companion on stressful days, and Verr had been having a lot of those lately. It had been a week since the Thundersnow storm had passed and so much had happened. Their balcony on the top floor had been utterly wrecked and even with the dendro vision wielders that had been sent by the Qixing to repair the damaged tree and balcony, the Inn just wasn't the same. The only good news to come of the mess they were in was that the weather had almost immediately cleared up. After that terrible night, the storm had almost all but passed and Liyue’s bright winter sun had begun to burn off all the snow that accumulated. They were now subject to some rather annoying puddles from the ice and snow melting off but it was far better than being trapped inside while a storm battered away at their Inn. 

And as for Xiao…

Verr felt worry swell up in her chest at the thought of him. After the emotional scene he had caused, Verr and Huai’an had carried him back into the Inn carefully. Huai’an had left to run damage control with the guests and Verr had enlisted the help of a nearby Smiley Yanxiao to carry the unconscious Adeptus up to an empty room on the top floor. The Adeptus had been running a slight fever and was breathing heavily, passed out from sheer stress, and completely unresponsive as they had dried him off and removed his shoes and accessories. Verr Goldet had cried her heart out silently that night as she lay beside him, refusing to sleep until he woke up and she knew he would be okay. Huai’an had returned later to try and get her to sleep herself but she had turned him away and refused to leave Xiao’s side. 

Eventually, her exhaustion and stress had gotten the better of her though and she had dozed off sometime after noon the next day. She was only asleep for a few hours and when she had woken up, Xiao was gone. She had nearly gone mad with worry until Huangshan reported spotting Xiao out in the marsh, covered head to toe in the black blood of demons, mask in place, and fighting off the returning monsters. It had put her irrational fears to rest, but Xiao had been so distraught that night and she hadn't even seen hide nor hair of him in a week since. Outside of the one time Huangshan did, none of the staff had seen him. He hadn't been back to the Inn and he wasn't on the rooftop and there was no sound of a flute playing from the treetops. There had been glimpses and rumors of him fighting and slaying the demons that had come back to roam the marshes and plains but those at Wangshu had not seen a single hint of him.

The things Xiao had said, the way he and wept and cried and stuttered over himself...He had not just shaken that off and Verr was so worried about him and where he was that she feared she might start losing her hair. Huai’an had noticed and even though he was probably just as worried as she was, he had started picking up more of the work around the Inn and giving her a chance to rest. The Boss appreciated her husband's efforts and had let him know she did, but she was perfectly able to do her job. She wouldn't stop worrying about Xiao and she had already taken steps to try and help him. The Qixing secretary would be by sometime today to visit her on request and Verr was fully planning on using whatever information she could glean from the half Adeptus to help Xiao. She couldn't tackle a problem she didn't understand.

And there was a lot about Xiao she didn't understand.

 For now, though all she could do was wait and attend to the guests. 

Wei meowed at her in protest as her hand slowed its repetitive motion across his spine. “Sorry Wei, I know I am distracted.” she soothed and scratched behind his ears. Wei’s deep rumbling purr was cut off suddenly as the little creature yowled loudly at a person dropping down loudly out of thin air onto the desk and jumped back, startling Verr as he took off down the hallway. 

“Xiao!” Verr exclaimed surprised as the Adeptus settled himself on the desk, heavy pants leaving his lungs. Xiao ignored her and stared straight ahead as he caught his breath. 

Xiao looked….terrible. 

Black ichor stained his ripped and torn clothing and dark circles ringed his eyes like heavy shadows. His hair was greasy and messy and he had a deep cut on one cheek, partially hidden by the mask that was pushed up to the side of his head and dripping in blood. His vision glowed with overuse and he was missing the censor that hung around his belt. His jade polearm was scuffed and stained with gore and mangled scraps of something hanging from the sharp blade. Xiao tossed it aside harshly, forgoing the usual flourished twirl and it disappeared in a shimmer of light, his breathing heavy and raspy. Fatigue dripped off his frame and he settled back against the wall with a wheeze.

He looked exhausted. 

“Xiao?” She called, her voice nervous and worried. If Verr didn't know any better she wouldn't recognize the usually put together Guardian.  Verr didn't have the chance to say anything more before a large duffel bag was dumped on the desk in front of her, making her jump and turn away from Xiao. In front of her stood the large red-headed man that led the thuggish men that she had banished last week. They were leaving today as it was safe enough to travel now and the man sneered at her as he pulled the guest book closer to sign out his name. 

“Gentleman, I see you are departing. Please do not forget the orders that were given to you.” Verr kept a friendly smile in place but it did not reach her eyes and her hands clenched in the fabric of the table cloth on the desk till her knuckles were white. These men were disgusting in every way and her anger and worry were only made worse by the fact that Xiao was here . He was right there and these men were far too close to him and herself for her to be comfortable. 

“You got a lotta nerve kickin us out lady.” The man scowled at her and threw down the pen he had been using. The utensil bounced off the desk and hit Verr in the stomach before dropping to roll across the floor at her feet. The Boss of Wangshu Inn didn't flinch. 

“Why I’ve half a mind to leave you with a parting...souvenir.” The leader smiled disparagingly at Verr and his cohorts shifted closer, crowding around the desk and glaring with a predatory look in their eyes. 

“After all, it's only fair after the shitty service you showed us!” The blonde one snarled and reached out to grab Verr’s arm. His stubby dirty fingers had barely brushed her shoulder before a low warning from Xiao made him pause. Verr used the distraction to move far back, to the other end of the desk, where Xiao still was and away from the man that had reached out to her. 

“Oh, and what are you gonna do, pretty boy?” The other men snickered around them at the blonde man's retort. Xiao did not find this quite as humorous and the Adeptus full-on growled at the men standing around the desk. The blonde man and his companions yelped and leaped back from the desk when shadows erupted from Xiao's shoulders in spindling wisps of darkness. Sharp golden eyes glowed with ethereal light and inhuman growls left his throat, making the men cower away from the oppressive aura he was giving off. 

Verr herself felt like she was about to be sick, an uncomfortable writhing in her chest seized around her heart and made her stomach turn like acid eating away at her insides. The Adeptus next to her snarled at the bullish men, fangs bared, and they shivered and trembled where they stood. 

“Leave.” 

That was all the prompting the men needed as they quickly gathered their belongings and fled from the Inn in terror. The aura around Xiao receded and the shadows settled back on his shoulders before disappearing and Verr slowly caught her breath. Verr straightened from where she had hunched over slightly and faced Xiao to thank him, who was quickly clamoring down off the desk. 

“Xiao-”

“Think nothing of it.” He said curtly and turned to leave, a slight limp making him stumble. Verr gasped and reached out to steady him, a gentle hand wrapped around his bicep. 

“Let go of me!” Xiao yelled and swatted her hand away harshly, leaving a sting behind. 

“Xiao-!” She held a hand to her chest and stared at the panting Adeptus in worry. Xiao flinched and stumbled, turning and running off awkwardly on an injured ankle. 

“Xiao!” Verr watched him leap off the Inn balcony, barely clearing the railing and more falling than a graceful jump. Verr shook her stinging hand as her eyes misted over with tears. Her earlier fears had not been unwarranted. Xiao was an absolute mess and it hurt so much to see him hurting like this. That was the first she had seen him in an entire week and he looked awful like he had just come from a weeklong battle with no rest. A terrible thought that maybe that was exactly where he had come from started to settle in her mind. Had…Had he been running himself this ragged on purpose? Not taking care of himself? When she thought about it, that seemed like exactly the sort of thing Xiao would do to himself. And the fact that he was, made her throat burn with emotion. Her eyes stung as the tears rolled over and Verr faced away from the lobby to allow herself a moment to compose herself. 

“Madam? Are you alright?” A voice behind her snapped her from her thoughts and the Boss quickly wiped her eyes and tried to regain some of her professionalism. 

“O-Oh! Excuse me! I am so sorry, I just had something in my eyes. How can I help you today?” Verr composed herself the best she could and faced the guest that had approached her desk. She sucked in a gasp and schooled her features at the man that stood before her. He was a handsome gentleman who was impeccably dressed in a tailored suit with a very fancy coat that bore scaled designs. But his fashion choices weren't what caught her attention. 

Verr had spent enough time around an Adeptus to recognize the warm buzzing energy that came off of the legendary beings and it was coming off the person here. Warm amber eyes with strange pupils met her own and Verr felt her insides squirm at the knowledge and depth they held. 

The man smiled kindly at her and adjusted the gold-accented gloves he wore. "I am actually here to meet with you Mrs. Goldet. Ganyu sends her regards and her apologies for being unable to attend here today.” He said with a voice like smooth silk. If he noticed her flushed face and red-rimmed eyes he didn't mention it and no judgment showed on his face. His calm and friendly demeanor settled over her nervous emotions and helped her calm down and keep any further emotions at bay. 

“Thank you for coming all this way Sir, but I am afraid the matter I wished to speak with her about is confidential.” Verr smiled calmly as she spoke, and the fancily dressed man nodded in response. 

“Yes, I know exactly the nature of my visit. We should most definitely talk somewhere more private. It has been a long time since I have been out to the Wangshu Inn and I would love to see the scenery a bit more. Shall we take a walk, Mrs. Goldet?” He asked and extended his arms in a vague direction of the elevator. Verr hesitated a moment but ultimately decided that the safe, warm feeling she felt coming off of this man wasn't her imagination and relented and left the back of the desk, walking around to the front before him. 

“May I?” He offered his arm, bent at the elbow. Verr chuckled at the gentlemanly display and warped her hand around his arm. His stance was steady and the buzzing energy she had sensed early increased when she touched his arm, wrapping around her, making her feel like she was touching sunlit warmed stone. It was only a little awkward as the possibly-an-Adeptus-or-something-of-the-divine was a whole foot or so taller than her but it was pleasant nonetheless. She asked Huai’an to cover the desk they passed him on the way out of the Inn. Her Husband looked twice at the man she was being guided by but after a nod and wave from Verr, nodded his head and went about his way, completely trusting her. Verr felt her heart swell at that. 

Dihua marsh was as beautiful as ever with the flowers beginning to sprout up from the ground now that the snow was almost all melted and a refreshing breeze blew through the air. 

“You aren't human, are you?” Verr asked as they walked along a shallow dirt path away from the Inn, relishing in the warm sunlight on her skin.

The man chuckled. “How very astute of you Mrs. Verr Goldet.” 

“It's not hard to guess when you have had as much contact with the divine as I have. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?” She asked as they came to a stop by a copse of trees and umbrellas by the road. 

“My name is Zhongli, I am a consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour in the Harbour. But that wasn't what you were asking, was it?” He brushed imaginary dirt from his coat as Verr released his arm and took a few steps away to crouch down and idly run her hand over the fabric umbrella they stood next to. 

“Are you an Adeptus?” Verr questioned cautiously was starting to tread into dangerous territory here. She knew this man was not human but whether or not he was of the friendly sort of the divine was yet to be seen. He seemed harmless enough but pushing and prodding at an unknown legendary being was never something you did recklessly. 

“Yes, I am. And I have no intention of harming you or anyone in your Inn. I would like to be of assistance if I can.” He spoke to her with sincerity and looking into his eyes now...Verr believed him. 

“Very well then. I assume Ganyu told you about why I asked her here?” Verr straightened up from where she had crouched and faced Zhongli, her hands folded in front of her politely. 

“This is about Xiao, yes?” The consultant took a seat on a nearby outcropping of rock, patting the spot beside him. 

Verr came and took a seat next to him, smoothing out her skirt. “I was hoping to get an outside opinion on things from someone who might know more about Xiao than I do." She began and looked to Zhongli, silently questioning. 

"I am very familiar with Xiao. I have known him for a very long time." He said after noticing her gaze. 

"There was...a bit of an incident…”  Verr sighed and went on to explain to him all the things she had seen and everything that happened leading up to the night Xiao had fainted. Everything her staff had told her about their interactions with Xiao. How he had deteriorated as the storm carried on. She expressed her worries over his mental health, her hopes that she could help him, and how he had pushed her away. She included every detail she could remember, every possible thing that could be relevant. 

“... I and many of my staff are extremely worried, especially after what happened this morning. He..” The Boss sniffled. “Oh goodness. My apologies, I didn't mean to get so emotional I just…” she trailed off and hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. So much for her dignity! She should be more put together than this but her heart squeezed and ached at the thought of everything Xiao was going through and how useless she felt on the matter of helping him. This was no time to be feeling sorry for herself. Someone she cared about was in pain and she needed to be there for him, she needed to do something! 

A pressed silk handkerchief was offered to her and Verr accepted it to wipe her eyes gratefully. “Thank you, Mr. Zhongli. I just...I am so worried about him. He said...He said that he wished Rex Lapis had never saved him. I don't know Xiao’s exact history but the implications of that statement...I can't even let myself think about it.” Her voice shook and a warm heavy hand rubbed her back as she tried to get a lid on her emotions. 

“Oh Xiao…” Zhongli sighed, the weight of worlds in the breath he released. Verr composed herself and spared a moment to lament the fact that she had probably ruined the lovely handkerchief. 

“Please, is there anything you can tell me that I can use to help him? I can't help if I don't understand and there's so much about Xiao that I don't understand.” She pleaded, clutching the handkerchief into a wrinkled ball in her lap. 

“It is... a very long story and not my story to tell, but I can tell you of my own experiences with Xiao.” He replied, eyes downcast and sad. 

“Please. I am listening. Whatever you can share.” 

The consultant sighed again and picked at his gloves. A nervous habit that didn't seem to suit his personality, what she had seen of it. “You know of Liyue’s history? The Archon War to be specific.” Verr nodded her head in response. She didn't know all that had taken place, only the archons themselves probably knew that but she knew that the Archon war was how the Seven Archons of Teyvat were formed, how it was a free for all amongst gods and magical beings for the seven seats to rule over. She had been educated on how Rex Lapis had formed the nation of Liyue and fought alongside (and later protected) the Adepti to bring the nation to its current glory. 

“It was during that war that Xiao's contract was first created. Xiao had not always served under the Geo Archon. He once served another god. One that was hellbent on wreaking destruction and his tyrannical exploits. Xiao did not serve him willingly, he was enslaved by that god and was forced to do terrible things under him. Terrible things that not even your worst nightmares could conjure.” Zhongli’s soothing timbre took on a sharp edge when talking about the former God that Xiao was served. 

“Xiao has endured great suffering in his life, some of it even brought on by his contract he signed under me, and believe me if I knew the things I know now…Xiao has not told me all that he has endured, but what I do know I would not wish upon my most hated enemy.” Verr remained quiet as Zhongli spoke. She was beginning to suspect who she was talking to now. 

“I first met Xiao when I plucked him from a pile of corpses. He could barely speak for himself and was covered in blood and sins. He was...lifeless. Broken and worn down and beaten into submission to have only one purpose. And that was the slaughter and assassination of whoever the god he served wished. 

“I did what I could to help him, I offered him a contract that would end the ceaseless violence he was forced to commit. I made that contract for him that would give him something to protect. A purpose that was meant to ease the pain he had gone through. However, looking back, I wish I had been able to give him the freedom he truly needed. Freedom from the battles against the evils that plague Liyue and those of his own mind.” There was a feeling of deep sorrow in cor lapis colored eyes and a pinch to his brow.

 Verr held her hands to her mouth, trying not to cry again. "That's awful.” 

“War is an awful thing. It takes and takes and it is never justified. Loved ones are lost, dreams are destroyed, and those who go into it never come back out the same. There is never a happy ending in war. It takes even the purest and happiest of souls and twists them into an entirely different being. And that is, unfortunately, exactly what happened to Xiao.” Verr could tell that the consultant spoke from experience. The seriousness of the conversation and heavy topic made her want to crawl under her covers and cry till she couldn't feel her eyes anymore. And that was just hearing about it! To experience such things…

“I think I understand now. Not everything, but enough…” Verr said quietly. 

Oh Xiao...Thinking back to the things he cried that night, the pain and torment in his voice. To have gone through so much, Verr didn't think she would ever understand the things Xiao felt or had experienced but she felt sympathy for him all the same. Xiao was holding onto so much, and he was hurting so much. Verr wanted to be there for him, she wanted to talk to him, to help him heal. 

But Xiao wouldn't accept that. Xiao wouldn't even talk to her right now, let alone let her try and help him smooth the invisible wounds that were torn and frayed and so desperately needed attention. Not yet anyway. Verr felt the beginnings of an idea start to spark in her mind. She couldn't force Xiao to accept her help, she couldn't force him to heal, or help himself. But she could offer it and let him know she was there if he needed it. 

And she could make sure he had very little reason to refuse. 

"Mr. Zhongli. Thank you for telling me all that." Verr laid a hand on his shoulder. 

"That must have been difficult to share." Zhongli smiled sadly at her in response and nodded his head. 

"From what you have told me...I must admit I am lost on exactly how I can help him." The consultant said and patted her hand. Verr leaned back and placed both her hands in her lap in thought. 

"We can only do what we can for him, but he has to be willing to let us help him." Verr said in response. "Mr. Zhongli, can I contact you again in the future? I have a feeling I will need to." Verr asked as she stood up and brushed off her russet-colored dress. 

Zhongli stood as well, a hint of a smirk forming on his lips. "You have a look in your eye." 

"A look?" Verr asked.

"A look of determination." Zhongli responded, offering his arm again. Verr smiled and took his arm again, beginning to head back to the Inn. 

"I have had my fair share of dealing with stubborn children." Verr responded, patting his arm good-naturedly. It was true too. Verr had taken in Smiley and Yuhua when they were down on their luck, wearing down walls and giving them a safe place to grow. Huangshan was coming around to her and her husband as well now and Sunny, the little teenager whose mother had been incarcerated was taking up residence at the Inn too. Huai'an had asked her why they hadn't tried for children yet. That was because they already have quite a few on their hands. 

Zhongli and herself continued in comfortable silence back to the Inn and he left her with a graceful bow and a few kind words.

“Take care of him for me.” That was the last thing he said to her and Verr had almost teared up again. 

“I will do my very best.” She had responded and they had parted ways after that, Zhongli headed back for the Harbour. Verr smiled as she waved him off and turned to enter back into her establishment. She hurried up to the lobby where Huai’an was at the desk and ran over to greet him.

“Verr what was-”

“Huai’an! I need some of the stationary behind the desk!” She exclaimed and her husband blinked at her owlishly. 

“What for?” He asked, curiosity painting his voice. 

“It's important! hand it here!” The Boss practically ripped it from his hands and Huai’an yelped, handing it over quickly. 

“Verr?” he asked as she began to furiously write down on the Inns stylized paper. She needed to help Xiao any way she could and that required some outside help as well. She made sure to include the names and a specific request for them specifically. After all, nobody else could help her with this issue. At least she had yet to meet anybody quite as capable. 

“I am making a request to the adventurers guild in the Harbour.” She explained and Huai’an nodded, confused. She finished writing and made grabby motions at Huai’an and he luckily understood her easily. 

“Should I be worried?” He asked and carefully handed her an envelope to seal the letter inside. Verr folded it neatly and sealed it up, wincing at the taste of the glue on the paper. 

“Not at all! I simply need the aid of our dear traveling friend for something.” Verr sealed the envelope and gathered up her pen to take it to someone who could deliver it. 

“Explain it to me later okay?!” Huai’an called after her retreating form and Verr called back an affirmation. 

She had her work cut out for her but Verr wasn't going to give up on Xiao. She refused to. 

----------------

“Thank you again for accepting the request. It means a lot to me.” Verr bowed her head in thanks and smiled warmly at the traveler. Aether nodded and wiped the sweat from their brow, dirt and dust covering them and mussing their hair. Verr was truly thankful/. Aether was a sweet kid and always ready to help anyone who asked them. THough that sometimes made Verr worry she was willing to take advantage of it. 

“It's not a problem.” They said and accepted a small bag of mora in gratitude. 

“Yeah! We beat up monsters like this all the time!” Paimon chipped in from where she was floating by Aether's side, throwing her hands out to her sides and the traveler swatted at his floating companion when she gestured a little too widely into his space. 

“Still, thank you for your hard work. Your rooms tonight are free of charge.” The Boss offered and the traveler's eyes widened. Their hands came up in front of them as they shook their head. 

“I insist.” She said and placed a hand on their shoulder gently. Aether looked hesitant but luckily their emergency food was less so.

“You don't have to tell Paimon twice! Come on, let's go get something from the kitchen, I’m starving!” The little floating fairy tugged on the traveler's scarf and they had no choice but to be pulled along, smiling and calling out their thanks as they were swept away. Verr giggled and waved at the two as they disappeared down into the kitchens and she snorted at hearing Smiley’s loud and grumpy exclamation at spotting Paimon.  Her hands flew to her face to stifle her laughter as a resounding crash echoed from the kitchens and Smiley’s distressed screams reached her ears. Those two were certainly a handful when food came into the equation. She was thankful for their help all the same though and if her thanks came at the expense of their food stocks then so be it. 

She had enlisted Aether's help via the adventurers guild to assist in clearing out the marshes and plains of monsters. It was a request she had made in the past of adventurers, though on a much smaller scale. Now rather than taking care of a few camps that popped up too close to the Inn for comfort, she had asked they eliminate as many monsters as possible in the surrounding area. It was a very tall order but Aether seemed up to the challenge and had been taking care of things efficiently. The traveler was never one to back down from a fight and they truly lived up to the reputation they were accumulating. It wasn't much, not in the grand scheme of things but it was a start. 

A start to helping Xiao, to alleviating some of the stress and burdens he carried. And if all went well it would mean he was hanging around the Inn more and Verr could convince him to let her help. Verr didn't have an exact plan in mind, but she had a few ideas, though still fuzzy and out of focus. Aether had begun cleaning up the riff-raff two days ago so now she only had to wait for Xiao to come around, hopefully...probably...maybe. Anxiety began to wiggle in her mind as she thought that maybe this wasn't enough. That Xiao would simply stay away despite having less to do, that he would still seclude himself. She wouldn't go back on her request, any help was good help at this point but she might need to be a little craftier to get him to settle down and show himself again. 

Verr Goldet spent the rest of the day slowly brainstorming ideas and becoming increasingly more frustrated as time went on. No matter what she thought of there seemed to be no conceivable way to get Xiao to stop what he was doing and listen to her short of tying him down by his ears. Verr wasn't lying when she told Zhongli that she had plenty of experience dealing with stubborn children but that didn't mean it ever got any easier and Xiao was particularly special. The day wound down to the evening, and dusk settled over the Inn. With merchants packing up their wares and heading to retire to their rooms and the kitchens closing for the day. Lanterns and oil lamps slowly took to life as the sky grew darker and the first hint of stars began to twinkle in the sky as the last of the sun lay on the horizon in a strip of gold. 

Verr was just exchanging a few words with Huangshan, who was taking the night shift for the desk when her earlier inquiry about Xiao was answered. A rush of wind collided with her back and made her squeak as her hair flew around her in an auburn wave and her dress fluttered around her knees. A hand grabbed her arm, not hard enough to hurt but firm enough to startle her, and Verr’s world tilted and spun in twists and turns and loops and swivels and her senses felt like someone had mixed them all around. She closed her eyes tightly against the feeling as everything went upside down and right ways up all at once. As soon as the feeling had started it ended. Only a few seconds later Verr found herself standing in a hallway a few floors up from the lobby desk, just down the hall from Huai'an’s and her room. Her new surroundings confused her and she looked around frantically in confusion. Xiao stood in front of her, still holding her arm, with wisps of anemo energy still dripping off his frame. It took her several seconds to realize that Xiao had just nabbed her from her spot on the floor and teleported them both elsewhere. 

Huh. So that is what teleportation felt like. Verr didn't think she liked it very much. 

“Hello.” She said calmly and reached up to fix her hair which was now sticking out in several different directions. Xiao seethed before her, releasing her arm finally and glaring at her. He looked even worse than before though and his intimidation attempt only made her worry more. 

“You!” He bit out around his teeth, fangs baring at her, which was extremely rude! Or at least she assumed so. Verr wasn't exactly familiar with what was acceptable behavior among the Adepti, but it certainly made her frown.

“Me.” She responded pouting at him for his lack of manners. The Adeptus didn't appreciate her response to his anger and growled at her. 

“You commissioned the traveler!” He said, breathing harshly with irritation heavy in his voice. Verr couldn't decide if that was because of his annoyance or his obvious exhaustion. 

“I don't know what it is you aim to do but I won't stand to have anyone else doing my job! I am perfectly capable of that and it's risky and foolish to put someone else in harm's way!” He lectured her, distress making itself known in his trembling shoulders. 

“The Traveler is more than capable and it's not uncommon for me to ask them to clear out some of the camps that pop up near the Inn…” Verr trailed off as she looked at Xiao. 

“That isn't the point…!” Xiao continued to argue with her as Verr lost herself in her thoughts momentarily. Xiao was dripping ichor and sludge onto the floor where he stood and a glance at her arm revealed a smudged bloody handprint where he had snagged her. One of the blurry ideas she had early snapped into focus. 

A bath would be a good enough start. 

“Aha!” Verr clapped her hands, cutting off Xiao's tirade and he blinked at her in annoyed astonishment. “I know just the thing, come on come on!”’ She hurriedly ushered the Yaksha down the hall by steering him with her hands around his shoulders, all the way down past the doors of rooms. 

“What is-why are you- Let go of me!” Xiao stuttered and complained but didn't fight back too vehemently. Verr began to wonder if that was out of his comfort being around her or if he was simply too tired to try. She quickly banished that thought to focus on the task at hand, that being hopefully convincing the Adeptus to get cleaned up. Despite Xiao’s squirming, she made it to an empty room at the end of the hall with little issue and quickly poked and prodded him into the bathroom that was next to it.

“What is the meaning of this!” He yelled and his eyes swept around the small room at a rapid pace in panic. Xiao's breathing pitched up, an awful wheeze getting caught in his throat, and he stumbled back away from her a few steps, stepping wrong on his ankle and buckling to his knees. The Anemo Adeptus made an attempt to scramble to his feet but fell once more with a pained whimper, his breathing growing more erratic at the revelation he wasn't standing on his own anytime soon and he shook from head to toe like a leaf in a storm. Verr felt her concern worsen at the sight of Xiao panicking on a bathroom floor and scooting back like a cornered animal.  

“Hey hey hey, Xiao, it's okay. Breathe .”  Verr knelt down in front of him and gently held his face with her hands, wiping away the beginnings of tears that had formed as his panic had started to rise. “It's okay, it's okay, you're safe.” Verr carefully shifted closer, moving slow enough that Xiao could back away or push her away if he wanted to. She wrapped her arm snuggly around his shoulders and the other stroking over the back of his head and shushed him gently. He did not return her embrace but he did let his head fall to rest in the crook of her shoulder as he shook and cried and Verr counted that as a win. She didn't feel very celebratory right now though, not as Xiao fell apart in her arms and spiraled down in front of her eyes. But then again...she had been watching him slowly spiral for days on end now, helpless to do anything for him because he refused to slow down long enough for her to try. She was both surprised and not at this outcome. She had already theorized that any attempt at talking to or confronting Xiao would end like this. He was in a delicate state right now and his emotions were probably far from positive, but it hurt all the same to see it. 

“Shhhh it's okay, you’re safe .” She shushed him and got a heart-wrenching sob in return that made her hold him just a little tighter.

It took several minutes of her quiet words and reassurances for Xiao to finally calm down and his lungs to operate at a normal speed. He still trembled terribly but Verr held him up against her with a firm but gentle hold. “Xiao.” She said after a few more moments of silence. 

The Adeptus shifted in response and attempted to pull away, but Verr tightened her grip on him, keeping his face tucked into her shoulder and he grunted at her resistance. “I was not looking down on you or thinking you inferior when I commissioned the Traveler.” XIao startled in her arms at that and Verr squeezed him gently. 

“Nobody thinks you inferior or incapable. We are very thankful for everything you do for us. You have been working so hard all this time and no one is judging you.” She gently smoothed over the insecurity oozing off his frame and let him pull away then, but not completely, making sure to keep her hands on his shoulders, firm and steady. There was still distress swimming in his golden eyes that still leaked out crystal tears that Verr gently swiped away. 

“Then why...I don't-'' He cried, upset spilling from every edge in his voice. Verr watched the words get caught in his throat and she carefully slid her hands down his arms and took one of his hands in her own. 

“To help you.” She replied. “Nothing else. Just to show you that I am here. That I care and I want to help any way I can.”

“I don't need-!” 

“Don't even try and argue with me. You can barely stand up right now!” Verr interrupted his retort and Xiao's mouth clicked shut at her lecture. The Adeptus was a bit of a sorry sight, shaking and crying on the ground, hardly able to stand on his own with his injured ankle and red flushed face splattered with tears. 

“I did not ask for your help.” he argued instead, embarrassed and distressed. Verr smiled, exasperated but fond. Trying to take care of a very proud Adeptus was challenging in its own right. Stubborn child.

“You didn't need to. I want to help you, Xiao. It's okay to accept help.” Verr explained and squeezed his hand. Xiao still looked upset and hesitant and Verr softly rubbed her thumb over his gloved knuckles. 

“It's only for a few days to give you a little break. Ather is very capable and won't easily fall to anything Liyue can dredge up to throw at him, you know that.” And they really wouldn't. The Traveler was a very skilled fighter and seemed to be rather immune to divine energies and elemental influences that would hinder anyone else. Xiao eventually relented, nodding with a mumbled agreement. Verr could tell he didn't like it but he accepted it. That was enough. 

“Now! How about we get you cleaned up hm? I'm sure a bath would make you feel much better.” She smiled sweetly and Xiao's eyes followed her as she stood up to flip on the tap, letting warm water rush out into the tub. 

“I-I don't need a bath!” Xiao protested from the floor, blood dripping down from his hair. 

Verr filled the slowly rising water with some salts and soaps that had been placed in the room for guests to use. “Xiao, Honey, you are absolutely filthy.” She stood and gestured to the bloody smudge on her arm as she spoke. Xiao flinched and looked away from her arm, shame painting his posture.

“It's okay dear. It's no trouble at all okay?” She attempted to reassure him. 

“It is not a hindrance to me.” He argued quietly as Verr stepped around him to grab a washcloth from the cupboards below the sink. 

“Maybe not. But while Aether has taken care of the marshes and plains it wouldn't hurt for you to get cleaned up.” She said and stepped back to the tub to shut off the water now that the basin was full, she dipped her hand in to make sure it wasn't too hot and laid the washcloth on the rim. 

“I can have your clothes laundered while you get cleaned up. It's no trouble alright?” Verr carefully scooped him under his armpits and grunted at the heavy weight, maneuvering Xiao to sit on the side of the tub. He did not help her at all, and she fought back an eye roll at his stubborn behavior. 

"This is ridiculous.” A rosy hue splashed over the Yaksha’s cheeks. The Boss smiled and ruffled his greasy hair. 

"Do you need any help getting undressed?" She asked and Xiao's face lit up like a lantern, an angry and embarrassed furrow appearing on his eyebrows. 

"No, I do not!” Verr nodded and stood up straight. 

“Alright then.” She tried not to laugh at the affronted expression Xiao was making. 

“I haven't agreed to any of this!” He said eyes shifting to the tub and back to her. Verr knelt again and held his face in both of her hands, thumbs stroking across pale cheeks stained with red and black grime. 

“Xiao...please?" She asked, holding eye contact with him. Xiao wriggled in her hold and tried to look away, uncomfortable with her being so close. 

“I do not need it.” He replied softly with shame painting his voice and Verr wiped away the tears that formed in his eyes. He was exhausted and in pain and Verr only wanted to help, not make him feel worse. She would have to make him see that. 

“There's no harm in getting cleaned and rested, I am sure you will feel better afterward okay?” The Boss spoke in soft tones, trying to convince him. He relented eventually after several moments of her pleading and concerned gaze.

“...Fine.” he hesitantly nodded his head and Verr smiled softly before stepping back a few steps and turning away to face the door. 

“Just toss your clothes over and I'll take them to be cleaned! I won't look, I promise!" She called over her shoulder and waited in a few seconds of silence before the soft sound of shifting garments met her ears. Liyuen silks and cotton were tossed at her feet a few moments later and she heard the water slosh as Xiao slipped in. Verr bent down and gently gathered up the filthy clothes in her arms and opened up the door and poked her head out. She spotted Sunny, the little fontanian girl dusting the paintings that hung on the walls. 

“Sunny!” She whisper yelled and waved her hand to get the girl's attention. The teen came trotting over, golden curls bouncing with her movement. 

“Please take these to Xi and have them washed, tell her it's a top priority please?” Verr handed the clothing to Sunny who winced at the state of it and nodded her head before running off down the hall. Verr waited until the little girl had disappeared down the stairs before she backpedaled into the bathroom, keeping her back turned away from the tub. 

"Do you want any help?" She called out and heard a violent splash behind her. 

"I do not need any assistance bathing!" Was the flustered response that greeted her. that might have been a bit too forward of her. 

"I didn't ask if you needed help, I asked if you wanted help." She countered. There was no response from the Adeptus. 

"Xiao? Can I turn around?" She asked and a few moments passed before there was a splatter of water and a very quiet "yes" from the boy. Verr turned around to find Xiao sunk into the water so only his nose and eye peeked out. 

Cute.

Verr kept her thoughts to herself and crouched down in front of the tub to be eye level with Xiao who was still avoiding her gaze. 

"I am not a child to be coddled." He mumbled petulantly, barely heard beyond the soapy water. 

"I never said you were, nor do I think you are. I am just showing I care about you." Verr responded and Xiao's eyes hardened when they slid over to her hers. 

"Why? What do you get out of it?" He questioned and Verr felt like shaking her head in exasperation. 

"Is it so hard to believe that I just want to help you? With no ulterior motive?" She asked, trying to keep her soft so as not to upset him or spook him further. 

"That's not how it works! People don't just …" Xiao trailed off, his eyes growing dark. "Not me. Nobody just wants to help me." He finally finished, ducking his head further into the water. There was definitely something more there but now was not the appropriate time to pry. Still, Verr tucked away that sentence into the back of her mind for later.  

" I do." Verr emphasized. Xiao peeked up at her through thick lashes, hesitant. Verr waited patiently, no doubt processing so much positive validation would take a minute. 

"I don't need your pity or your sympathy…" The Yaksha made one last attempt at arguing and Verr smiled, leaning in closer. 

"Then will you accept my kindness?" She countered. It was several seconds of a staring contest between russet brown and brilliant gold before Xiao responded. 

"....Okay." was his quiet response, his voice small and ears tinting pink. Verr full-on grinned at him. 

"Then let's get to work, shall we? Turn around and I can help you wash your hair, okay?" Verr gently suggested and Xiao nodded and slowly spun around in the water to lean against the back of the tub and tuck his knees under his chin. Verr snagged a glass cup off the counter and shifted around so she could stand on her knees behind him on the floor. 

"Can I touch you?" She asked, hands hovering by his head. Xiao nodded and Verr shook her head. 

"Words please." She clarified.

"Yes, you can." He responded verbally this time. Verr dipped the cup in the water, filling it up, and slowly poured it over Xiao's head, letting the water soak into his hair and run down his scalp. A few passes of this and Xiao’s hair hung in long wet strips around his face and Verr set aside the little cup to grab a glass vial of soap made specifically for hair. She rubbed some of the soap between her hands before gently dipping them into Xiao’s hair. Even when greasy and grimy as it currently was, Xiao had unbelievably soft hair, it almost made Verr jealous. She gently massaged the suds into his locks, letting her nails gently drag over his scalp as she began to hum a mindless tune. 

The Boss watched the tension in the Adeptus’s shoulders slowly bleed out the more Verr worked and softly scrubbed away the dirt from his head. Her fingers scrubbed around his temples and behind his ears, as she made sure to be thorough and took her time. 

“Close your eyes.” She warned quietly and brought the little cup back to rinse the suds and bubbles from his hair. She smiled knowingly at the reserved happy sigh that left his lips. A quick inspection revealed that she would probably have to wash up his hair at least once more to get it fully clean but that wasn't surprising given how filthy it was. 

“How's your ankle?” She asked as she began to lather up the second round on his hair. 

“Almost healed. It should be fine by tomorrow.” Xiao responded softly. 

“Can I see?” Verr asked as she gently rubbed her fingers over his temples. The yaksha shifted to sink a little lower into the water, his hair dipping slightly below the surface and his right leg rose out of the water to expose itself from the shin down. There was hardly any swelling but there was still evidence of a bruise. Verr estimated it would be fully healed in a week's time but she trusted Xiao’s diagnosis of a single day, he knew more about his own body than she did after all. Still, she made a mental note to wrap it up with a compress later to keep it from getting any worse. No doubt Xiao would absolutely refuse to stay off of it. 

“How did that happen?” Verr gently covered Xiao’s eyes as she rinsed out his hair again, watching the suds slip down through his hair. 

"Slipped off a rock while dodging an arrow." He said flatly and Verr uncovered his eyes. 

"That must have hurt. Did you have any other injuries?" She inquired as she continued to card her hands through his soaked locks. His hair was clean now and no longer needed her attention but the blissed-out expression on Xiao's face gave her no reason to stop. 

The Adeptus shook his head no and Verr was relieved to hear it. She reached for the washcloth and began to gently scrub the filth from his shoulders. Xiao practically melted in her hands and sagged further into the warm water, a sleepy comfortable haze falling over his eyes. She hummed and dipped the washcloth back into the water and moved on towards his back. 

Verr had not noticed earlier, too focused on what she was doing, but now it was impossible not to notice the two long jagged scars running down the Adeptus's back. They were almost symmetrical in placement, starting just the inside of his shoulders and following the shoulder blades down, and ending at his mid-back. The tissue was old and healed over with raised ridges and twisted skin that was just a shade darker than Xiao’s pale skin. Verr traced over one with her finger, making Xiao tense up below her. She quickly moved her hands away from the scars and apologized softly. A few moments passed before Xiao nodded and relaxed again, but he was still tense and on guard now. 

Verr gently scrubbed over the scars, careful not to press too hard. Whatever caused those, must have hurt, a lot judging by how gnarled they were even after what must have been years of healing. And Xiao had yet to explain, tipping Verr off to the fact that it wasn't something he wanted to talk about, and Verr understood that. Once she had rinsed the soap from his back she smiled and tapped his shoulder to get him to lift his arm for her to wipe clean. As she passed over the intricate pale green designs in his arm, she found herself distracted by the swirling wings and feathers depicted there. 

"You know your tattoo is quite intricate. When did you get it?" She asked as she washed away the soap from his arm and moved over to the opposite one. 

"I was born with it." The answer made her pause, surprised. 

"A birthmark?" She asked and Xiao shook his head. 

"It's the mark of an illuminated beast, most of the Adepti have them somewhere. Rex Lapis has them on both of his arms." Xiao explained, his hand coming up to trace the edges of the marking. "Mine depicts my original form." 

Verr hummed in thought. She had heard that many of the Adepti took the form of divine beasts but she had never given it much thought till now. A bird fit Xiao's personality honestly, and it explained his affinity for high perches. Verr held in a snicker at that thought. Her humor vanished quickly though when she caught another glimpse at the long jagged scars marring his back and a very worrisome thought took root in her head. If Xiao’s original form was that of a bird didn't that mean he possessed wings? 

Oh.

Oh.

"What about Ganyu?" Verr asked, curious if the half Adeptus had any sort of markings and trying to distract herself from her suspicions, and Xiao from the dark topic. The whole point of this was to help him calm down and relax, not bring up old bad memories and trauma for him. 

"She doesn't have any that I am aware of or have ever seen. But I can't tell if that's because she keeps them covered or if she doesn't have any." Xiao responded, his muscles finally loosening up again as he hummed and relaxed further now that there was no attention on his scars. 

Verr hummed in acknowledgment and wrung out the washcloth to start and gently wash his face, which was very difficult to do when he was not having her but she managed well enough, slipping her fingers gently over his cheeks and temples and rubbing soap over his forehead eyebrows. The Boss was careful not to get any suds in his eyes and warned him to close them when she wiped away the soap with the wet cloth. Verr was surprised to find that while the red markings around his eyes were painted on, the diamond mark on his forehead was not, perhaps another illuminated marking? Xiao melted and sighed under her fingers, and leaned his head into her hand. Verr smiled and passed her thumb over his cheek, watching as he relaxed even further. She picked back up her humming as she finished rinsing the bubbles from his face.

“Okay, I will leave the rest to you while I get you some clothes.” She pinched Xiao’s cheek to get his attention and stood up to dry her hands. Verr smiled and watched as Xiao sunk further into the warm water.

“There are some towels on the counter to dry off, okay?” She asked and poked his shoulder.

“Hmmm” was his only response and Verr bit her lip to keep from giggling. It was nice to see Xiao like this. Relaxed and content with no sadness in his eyes and no sharp edge to his features. He looked relaxed and soft and even if it only lasted a few moments, Verr was happy that he could feel safe and happy. She ruffled his wet hair and slipped out of the room quietly, making her way down the hall to her room. She hurried over to the wardrobe and quickly shuffled through, looking for something that might fit Xiao. 

His clothes had been in terrible shape and there was no doubt that not even Xi could get them clean without several hours of scrubbing and washing. So she would find something of hers or Huai’ans for Xiao to wear in the meantime. Going purely off size, something old of hers would be better for Xiao’s short stature, and preferably something soft in nature. She found some older sleeping garments she hadn't worn in a long time and deemed them basic enough that Xiao would be comfortable and hopefully would not have too many complaints about. She tossed everything that had been shoved out of her way back into the closet and shut the door tight, reminding herself to clean up the mess later. 

Verr made it back to the spare bathroom, clothes folded in hand, and rapped her knuckles on the door a few times. 

“Xiao? I am going to come in okay?” She called out and waited for any protest. None greeted her and she opened the door to see Xiao out of the water now and wrapped up in towels. She smiled and set the clothes down on the counter. 

“Take your time okay?” was her parting response as she left the room once more. She waited several minutes before the door opened up and Xiao stood before her with damp hair in clothes that were just a touch too big on him. His necklace was back in place around his neck and his face was flushed warm from the steamy room. The sleeping robes consisted of a black tunic and white underpants in soft cotton material with gold trimmings. The sleeves were too long and fell over Xiao's hands and the pants fell over his ankles, but all in all, they fit well enough that they weren't a big hindrance. 

“These...are not mine.” He said slowly, holding his arms up and looking down at the foreign sleeves. 

“No, they're not. Your clothes are still being washed so I gave you something of mine to wear until they are done.” Verr said and reached behind him to grab a towel off the counter. 

“I can't move in this easily.” He retorted as Verr draped the towel over his head to tousle his hair dry. Considering they were soft and loose Verr concluded he meant he couldn't fight in these clothes. But he hopefully wouldn't have to if everything went well. 

“Well, luckily you won't have to for tonight. The traveler is watching over things, remember? And your clothing will be ready for you by morning okay?” She removed the towel to reveal fluffy clean hair that smelled faintly of the soaps that had been used to wash it. 

“Now let's get that ankle looked at shall we?” she said and flattened out his hair as she did. 

“I do not need any of that.” He swatted away her hands and frowned at her. In doing so though he lost his balance and had to put weight on his ankle, making him cringe at the pain. Verr raised a skeptical eyebrow but said nothing about it. 

“Well it certainly won't hurt anything now will it?” She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him to lean against her as she led him down the hall. 

“I-”

“Hush.” She shushed him and carefully opened the door to her own room, leading him over to settle him down on the edge of the bed as she gathered up some elastic bandage from the drawer in the nightstand. 

“Let me see.” She waved her hand to gesture for his foot. Xiao frowned and refused to budge and verr rolled her eyes before grabbing his leg herself and hauling it upwards. The Adeptus squeaked and stumbled back, barely catching himself from falling over completely. Verr sat next to him with the injured foot in her lap and ignored the huffy Yaksha next to her and began to wrap up the ankle so it wouldn't jostle too much while it healed. 

“This is unnecessary.” Xiao scowled at her and Verr reminded herself to be careful, it seemed the sleepy content Xiao was wearing off, so she would have to tread carefully so as not to scare him off or upset him. She secured the bandage with a metal clip and patted his leg. 

“All done. that wasn't so bad was it?” She giggled as he all but ripped his foot from her grasp and grumbled at her. 

“When will my clothes be clean?” He asked. Verr hummed and raised her hand to her chin in thought. 

“It will probably be a few hours. I made sure to let Xi know it was a top priority.” She answered and Xiao pouted at her in return. 

“Why don't you take a nap while you wait? Your clothes will be clean and dry by the time you wake up.” Verr suggested and stood up. 

“Tch, you think I sleep?” was the scathing response from the Adeptus. 

“I think that a good rest would be nothing but beneficial.” She countered and Xiao frowned at her again. 

“I-I don’t sleep.” He responded and distress poured into his eyes slowly. 

Verr’s eyebrows scrunched up in worry and she reached out to stroke his shoulder, making sure to move slowly so he didn't startle. 

“Huai’an mentioned to me that you said something about nightmares…” Xiao nodded in response, a distant look in his eyes and welled up with unshed tears. 

“Well, if you won’t sleep, will you at least relax for a while?” She asked and rubbed soothing circles into his shoulder. “I know you must be exhausted after how upset you were earlier.” And all the countless hours and days fighting tooth and nail with no rest but she would let that part go unsaid. 

“I don’t get tired.” The yaksha retorted and Verr nodded absentmindedly as she stood up to dim the lights in the room. 

“Emotions are pretty exhausting. It's okay to rest for a while, Xiao.” She said and pulled a warming bottle from the drawer on the bedside table, carefully opening it and letting the pyro elemental energy zip out and spread around the room in a shower of orange and soft red light, making it comfortably warm and cozy, with the last twinkle of energy lingering in the air like fireflies.

“Come on. Why don't you lay down for a little while, okay? It can't hurt.” Verr pulled the covers back and patted the spot on the bed. Xiao looked at her incredulously and Verr stared back, refusing to budge. Several awkward moments ensued and after seeing Verr wasn't going anywhere, he finally caved. The Adeptus sighed and moved to crawl across the bed's surface and settle down in the spot she had gestured to. 

“If it will get you to stop pestering.” Xiao grumbled and shimmied under the duvet so Verr could cover him up, tucking the comforter in around him. 

“Comfy?” She asked. 

“It's...adequate.” Xiao responded, bringing his arm up higher towards his face. Every line of him was taught with tension and he was very obviously not comfortable. Verr sighed fondly and sat on top of the covers on the bed next to him, tucking her legs under her dress. 

“What are you-” 

“Hush.” She crooned and let her hands fall into his hair, scratching her nails down his scalp and combing it through with her fingers. Xiao let her, but not without another complaint.  

“I don’t-” 

“Sshh.’ She cut him off, rubbing some strands between her fingers and humming a lullaby she remembered from her childhood. One that spun a tale of the Anemo Archon commanding the winds to bring about Mondstat's bountiful harvest. If she were more confident in her voice she would have sung it but humming would have to do for now, and it appeared to be working as Xiao’s muscles relaxed and the tension slowly slipped away from his frame. His brilliant eyes grew heavily lidded, the shadows beneath them standing out now more than ever and he blinked slowly, every time lasting a little longer than the last. The warm room and cozy bed along with her humming and soft ministrations on his hair finally wore him down after nearly half an hour of Xiao fighting it, his eyes slipped closed, breathing evening out almost instantly. 

Verr smiled and continued to stroke through his hair as the Adeptus slept soundly. She ceased humming and sighed, gently swiping over his temple. Verr would make sure no one disturbed him until he awoke on his own. 

 Finally, he was getting the rest he needed . 

-----------------

Verr stifled a laugh as Huai’an froze to a dead stop upon entering the room. Xiao had been asleep for several hours now and had shifted in his sleep. Verr was half under the covers herself with his head now pillowed in her lap and his face snuggled into her stomach, laying almost sideways on the mattress. Huai’an opened his mouth to say something and Verr held a finger to her mouth.

“Shhhh. He's asleep.” She whispered at her husband's shocked features and Huai’ans mouth closed as he tiptoed over to them on light feet.  

“How on Teyvat did you manage that?” Huai’an slid under the covers next to her, careful not to disturb the snoozing Adeptus. 

“I have my ways.” Verr settled against her husband, gently running her hand over Xiao’s head when he wiggled in his sleep in response to her moving. She smoothed dark hair away from the Yaksha’s forehead affectionately and Huai’an hummed next to her. 

“I am glad he is resting peacefully.” He whispered and dropped a kiss to Verr’s head. Almost as if Huai'an’s words had summoned fate, a whimper sounded from Xiao and his face scrunched up and he burrowed further into Verr’s middle. 

“Hey Xiao, shhshshhhh, it's okay sweetheart.” Verr cradled the Adeptus’s face and caressed over his cheek with her thumb, trying to soothe away whatever nightmares his mind was conjuring while he rested. Huai’an also lifted his arm to rub down Xiao’s back in comfort. The Adeptus hiccups in his sleep and Verr shushed him gently again, continuing to stroke over his head, and whisper soft reassurances that he was safe, and loved. Eventually, he settled down again, his features smoothing out and relief bloomed inside her. It looked like they were able to stave off any nightmares and dark thoughts swirling in Xiao's mind with gentle touches and words this time.  

This time. 

"Huai'an, I'm worried." She kept her voice quiet to not disturb the Yaksha snuggled in her lap. 

"I know, I am too." Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tucking her up under his chin as Tears welled up in her eyes.

“He hasn't been taking care of himself Huai’an. He was injured and so upset and he looked so small.” Verr paused to wipe her eyes and sniffle.

“Even getting him to bathe and let me wrap his injury was like pulling teeth!” She whisper yelled and stroked her thumb over Xiao’s cheek. Huai’an frowned above her and squeezed her shoulders affectionately. 

“I think...that Xiao is struggling with far more than any of us ever realized.” Huai’an’s hand joined her own as she spoke, rubbing circles into Xiao’s shoulder, making him relax further into her hold. 

“Did you know he told me his original form was a bird? And he has such terrible awful scars on his back and after what Mr. Zhongli told me I can't help but suspect that…”The Boss trailed off as her tears got the best of her and she bit back a sob, her hands leaving Xiao’s frame to hurriedly wipe her face. Huai’ans hands came up to grab hers away from her face gently. 

“Verr…” 

“I know...I know. He will talk about it when he's ready. Until he's ready we can be there for him and support him and make sure he knows he is safe and loved. I know that. I just… I feel so useless right now. Xiao is troubled by things that are so far out of my realm of knowledge and I have no idea if I ever will be able to help him how he needs and-” Verr cut herself off and forced her lungs to take a deep breath. Nobody needed her freaking out right now and spiraling. Huai’an hugged her close and whispered soft words of encouragement in her ear, letting her cry out her emotions and the Boss was thankful for it. 

“I just wish I could take away all his hurt and pain, I wish I knew the exact words that would be needed to do that.” Verr scrubbed the saltwater from her eyes and cuddled close to her husband. She just felt so clueless and useless! Logically she knew that Xiao needed time. Time to heal and process and maybe, maybe , he would talk to them about things once he had that time. She knew what she needed to do to help him heal and make sure he was taken care of and felt safe but when it came down to it Verr wasn't just worried anymore she was scared . Scared for Xiao. Scared that the Adeptus may not even feel safe with himself anymore and she was scared of where that might lead him. She was scared that Xiao’s thoughts might consume him and that she would not be able to do anything to help him. Xiao was in so much pain right now and was silently crying out for help and Verr didn't want him to think it was falling on deaf ears. 

"My Verr, I feel the same way. I understand how much it hurts to see him hurt and being clueless on how to make it better. But you aren't useless. You are my whole world Verr Goldet and you have been saving my sorry butt since we were teenagers. You have always stepped up to help others and you've never backed down to any obstacle. You are not useless or clueless. Neither of us are, we may be a little caught off guard but we will help Xiao no matter what it takes. By the Archons, if I have to drag all of the Adepti down from the mountains to help him I will.

"We may be out of our depth but I would go to any depth if it means Xiao will be safe and happy." Verr couldn't agree with that more. Her husband wasn't usually one for emotional speeches but he certainly could get his point across when one was called for. 

"I know you would, and I would too. I'm just letting my concern get the best of me." She assured but truthfully she was grateful to Huai'an for assuaging her fears. Right now Xiao needed them. And Huai'an was right, she would be strong for him and help him however she could, despite her confidence issues. It was still good to say it though. 

"Thank you for listening." She kissed her husband's cheek, giggling at how it warmed, beneath her lips, and snuggled into his side.  

"Anytime...we certainly have our hands full with this one don't we?" Huai'an brushed the hair from Xiao's face, tucking it behind his ear. 

"We do. But it's worth it." Verr yawned mid-sentence, drowsiness tugging at her mind. 

"I agree. You should sleep, Darling." Huai'an's opposite hand ran up and down her side.  

"...You promise you will wake me if he so much as twitches ?" She asked seriously. Huai'an nodded and Verr turned her head back to rest in the crook of his shoulder. 

With the cozy room and Huai'an a comfortable steady figure to lean against and Xiao's warm heavy weight sprawled over her lap, it was all too easy to close her eyes and let sleep wash over her. 

Chapter Text

Xiao couldn't remember a time when he hadn't felt pain. 

He could sometimes, if he focused hard enough, just barely catch the glimpses of his life before he had come under the heavy fist of Osial all those centuries ago. But he could never remember what it felt like to be free of suffering and the ever-present agony that churned beneath his skin. He could never recall what it felt like to truly not be in pain. The only clear memory he had of anything before his forced service to the god of the vortex and the ever-present torment that followed, was his wings. He remembered very little of them but he cherished what he did remember of his wings. The soft feathers, and the wonderful feeling of the wind fluttering through them. He couldn't remember what they looked like but he remembered how they felt, soft and strong between his shoulder blades, and he remembered that someone he couldn't remember the face of had once called them beautiful. 

And he remembered how terrifying the pure anguish he felt was when he lost them. 

He could vividly remember the sound of delicate bones snapping and soft flesh ripping away cruelly. Such delicate and otherworldly beauty was unfitting for a weapon of war and so Osial had taken them from him in slow agonizing rips of the feathery plumage from his back. Xiao had screamed and cried and begged till his voice had vanished and he was quivering on the stone beneath the god’s feet. Osial had seen his potential and had taken his freedom to take advantage of that. Xiao had been allowed no time to mourn his loss, he was immediately burdened down with heavy chains that cut into his wrists and neck and given his orders before being thrown straight to the frontlines of a war against gods and demons alike. From then on, he lived for one thing, and one thing only, and that was to destroy and kill whatever The God of the Vortex wished. However long he had spent in that bloodied cloud of carnage and death had been the most painful time in his life, a fuzzy recollection of constant bloodshed remained in his memories and the pain had kept . The hideous gouges on his shoulders had healed and scarred over, but he had felt that pain of voices screaming in his head and the guilt over the monstrous things he had done, over and over every second from then on out. Although not as fresh as it had been, it had never stopped hurting. A non-physical pain that had stuck to his shoulders like a shroud and never left him. 

Xiao couldn’t ever remember what it felt like to not be in any pain. However, at this present moment in between sleep and awake, this was the closest he had been to not feeling any pain in a very long time. 

Wakefulness returned to Xiao very slowly. Awareness filtered back into his head in a slow stream as his senses came back to him one by one. He couldn't open his eyes, drowsiness still rendered them heavy and when he tried to pry his eyelids apart they fell back closed. He was surrounded by something soft and cozy and all his limbs were lead-laden with sleep. Xiao was warm and comfortable and for the first time in what felt like forever, he almost wasn't in any pain. The screaming, crying voices in his head, begging and torturing him for his sins, were mere whispers now. His entire body was soft and warm and everything was hazy and out of focus like he was feeling everything from behind a thick sheet of water. 

He had...fallen asleep. 

Frost rushed through his head at that realization and the warm cozy feeling vanished and he tensed up sucking in a breath and holding it as panic started to set into his being. His eyes snapped open, comfortable warmth be damned, and surveyed around the room he was in. He was in one of the spare rooms that the Inn held, the tall dark oak ceilings familiar to him, if only vaguely. He let himself relax slightly, recognizing slowly that he was not in any immediate danger, and realized he was in the same room that Verr Goldet had brought him to the night before to bandage his ankle.

He had fallen asleep. Centuries of diligence and self-control and he had thrown all of that out the window and let himself fall into such a vulnerable state. How pathetic. Xiao could vividly remember the last time he had slept through the night. Horrific images had tormented him for hours in his mind in violent succession without reprieve. He had screamed and cried and writhed around in agony, unable to wake up from the night terrors or pull away from the torture as all his nerves had lit themselves on fire. Xiao was a warrior who walked the line between the warm light of life and the twisting screaming darkness of his own mind. The last time he had slept was one of the few times that he had felt he had come closest to teetering off the edge and into that darkness. 

That had been the first night after Rex Lapis had freed him from the steel chains that Osial had put onto him. He had refused every opportunity for sleep since and had never regretted that action. 

Although Xiao had to admit, it wasn't as bad as he thought. While the last time he had fallen asleep had been a hellish experience, this time he had no dreams. Or maybe he had dreamt but he couldn't remember anything from his dreams. He could feel what might have been one slipping away quickly in pieces like leaves through the fast-flowing current of a stream. Whether they were bad or good was lost on him and he could admit to himself that he didn't mind not knowing. 

"Xiao." A calming feminine voice called out to him and a hand stroked over his hair softly. His nose twitched at the familiar soft scent of oak wood and honey that followed the Wangshu Inn Boss. After an initial startled reaction, the Adeptus had to focus very hard so as not to sigh and lean into her touch. A heavier, larger hand stroked the spot between his shoulder blades, spreading warmth along his back through his clothes and making drowsiness swim through his vision. He was truly disturbed by just how much he enjoyed being touched. It was foreign and new and uncomfortable but Xiao always found himself tumbling headfirst into it when the Inn staff touched him with care, and that thought scared him.

"Good morning, Dear." The Boss of the Inns' voice was warm and tinged with affection, her nails scratching along behind his ears, eliciting a pleasant tingling to scour over his head and make his eyes twitch. Xiao grunted softly and pushed himself to sit up, an embarrassed flush taking over his face when he realized he had been snuggled in tight on Verr’s lap. The Boss’s hand followed his movements up and fell to his shoulder when she could no longer reach his head. The Adeptus wasn’t sure if he should feel uncomfortable at the prolonged contact or thankful for how the soft touch grounded him and kept his writhing emotions steady for a moment. 

“Are you feeling better?” Huai’an, who Xiao noticed was comfortably seated beside his wife, asked him quietly. Golden eyes slid over the Inn owner and Xiao blinked slowly at the question. 

The Adeptus took a moment to assess himself. The aches that had penetrated deep into his muscles had been smoothed out and he felt better to be clean and warm in soft clothes, even if only borrowed. The Guardian couldn't remember a time when he had felt this peaceful, despite the startling fact he had slept. A jaw-cracking yawn threatened to peel out of him and he barely resisted. Honestly, he did feel better.

He probably smelled better too, ugh. 

Shame and humiliation settled hot and searing in his stomach, banishing the comfort, and making his throat tight. With his head slightly clearer and his immediate ailments cared for, his unbecoming and deplorable behavior snapped into focus clear as day, and Xiao felt like screaming at himself in anger. He had never acted in such a dishonorable way before, not of his own will and not in the many centuries he has served the Geo Archon. 

“That thing has no place among civilized people!”

Oh, how right that human woman had been about him. Hit the nail right on the head. Despicable, disgraceful, disrespectful, disgusting .  Many words were running through his head to describe his behavior the past few weeks and none of it seems to do justice to just how terrible he felt about it. He had made an utter fool of himself. And these two, Verr and Huai’an, they had been witness to it all. An Adeptus displaying such heinous acts...Xiao quickly shrugged off the Boss’s hand from his shoulder and wiggled around in the covers to face them both properly, bowing slightly at the waist apologetically. 

“Xiao?” Verr questioned him, but he refused to look up and meet either of their eyes. 

“I...apologize for my behavior...It was unseemly…” There were sharp shards of thick glass stuck in his throat that made speaking so incredibly difficult. 

“Xiao, nonono!”

“There's no reason for any of that now.” 

Soft-spoken voices gentle touches to his hair were the response that greeted him and the Adeptus carefully shrugged them away. He wanted to try and make things at least somewhat better, his problems should not have been theirs to deal with or put up with and an apology was the best course of action to start, but even so, he didn't feel any better after having done so. 

“You don't need to apologize for anything Xiao.” Huai’ans smooth voice was low and calming and had the exact opposite effect on him as the man probably intended. Why did these two care so much and so easily and shush him and run their hands over his head and shoulders? He had made a fool of himself when he could no longer keep it together and had frightened people and them. He had snarled at Verr Goldet. His problems and burdens had been laid bare and now they were having to deal with him not even being able to keep it together for more than five minutes. He had always born his problems himself and had never involved others. They were his to deal with. Terrible shivers wracked his frame as he felt his self-restraint fraying and snapping like cords strung through his very soul. 

“I’m sor-rry.” His voice stuttered on the word and it suddenly was so much more than just apologizing for his behavior. Something old and twisted was poking at the surface and forcing so much more weight into his words and down on his chest. Everything was so confusing and his head was starting to swim, the usual ache coming back with a vengeance. 

“Xiao, it's okay, you are safe here.” 

“You can talk to us, we’ll listen.” 

“We just want to help.” 

“....I don't-'' The Yaksha cut himself off with a hiccup that dislodged his voice and made his eyes and nose burn. “I don't know...what to do..” an embarrassing sob wrenched itself out of his chest and even though he was already hunched over, he curled further into himself, desperately trying to retain some form of physical stability. It hurt. Everything hurts . He had no physical injuries but there was pain ricocheting off every part of his being, making his eyes water and his vision smear. Xiao didn't know how to cry. He couldn't remember the last time he had truly cried. He shook and rubbed harshly at his eyes with the inside of his wrist and panicked over the fact that he didn't know how to react to his own tears. Huai’an reached for him and inhaled to say something, a worried arch in his brows, but Xiao cut him off, desperate to say something but unable to put an entire sentence together. 

“My contract with Rex Lapis was all I had left! Now that it's gone, now that he’s gone I don't-... I can't-.” A desperate sob wracked through him again and he very nearly fell forward completely as everything pinpointed down till all he could focus on was trying to catch his breath in between the violent hiccups and breaths. Xiao was distantly aware of gentle hands guiding him into sitting straight and wrapping him in a soft embrace as he cried. The lord of Geo had given him meaning and a job to do. Simple orders to fulfill and that had kept him moving, kept him fighting to subdue the long-dead gods’ poisonous auras and hate for centuries. And they were mercifully sweet compared to his past deeds before he had met Morax. He helped , or at least he was given the blissful illusion that he was. He was able to protect instead of destroy, the only things he had to kill were the demons that threatened the nation of stone, and he didn't have to shed any more human blood. His suffering meant something. He could deal with the pain when it had a purpose for being there but now…Now everything was crumbling apart.  

Without that steady force and assurance of his contract, he was flying apart at the seams, like a doll whose stitches had all come loose and was clattering across the floor in pieces. Liyue no longer needed him, they no longer wanted him , if they ever even did. He had been holding onto that and fighting for it for so long that he didn't know how to do anything else. He wasn't worth anything else. Not worth the Inn Staff’s kindness and sympathy or the Owners’ care and consideration. He has one purpose. He had one purpose and he couldn't even keep himself together enough to fulfill it when faced with the uncertainty of it no longer being required of him.

He was a beast with no master.

 A weapon with no target. 

A monster with no direction.

“ Xiao .” Huai’ans stern voice snapped him out of his haze and he tensed at the sharp tone it carried. Lamp oil and parchment tickled his nose and the Adeptus only just realized he was squished between the couple, with Huai’ans arms wrapped firmly around him, and half spilled over their laps.”I know you are hurting, I understand that all of this is so unimaginably hard on you, but I won't let you talk that way about yourself.” Huai’an finished firmly, but soft enough to make it clear he wasn't scolding. 

He had said that last part out loud. 

“Xiao, you're not a mindless weapon, you are a person.” Verr’s small hands rubbed over his back, gently avoiding the scars there. “Being a person means you have desires, and fears, and feelings about people, and places, and things around you. It means caring about others and caring about yourself . No mindless weapon would look after and interact with Liyue and the people here with as much care and diligence as you. You aren't a monster Xiao.” Huai’an hummed in agreement with his wife and held onto the Yaksha just a little bit tighter. But Xiao shook his head fervently, gripping onto the dark blue fabric of Huai’ans hanfu.

“You don't understand!” He cried.

“Then help us understand.” Huai’an countered as Xiao sniffled. 

“I am a monster! I have slaughtered thousands ! I have taken people's dreams and hopes from them and torn them apart! I have blood on my hands and it will never come off! I don't deserve your concern, I am not a person worthy of anyone's worry. I don't feel like a person at all! Who are you to say that about me anyway? You don't know anything about me!” He stuttered angrily, his temper flaring in defensiveness for reasons he didn't understand. 

“... I shouldn't have been the one who survived this long…” Xiao whispered miserably. He only choked harder on his tears when Verr Goldet’s warm weight settled against his back and wrapped around him. 

“I do know you. You aren't a monster, or a beast, or anything like that. You’re Xiao . Our oldest Tennant. A sweet Adeptus who plays the flute and has protected us for so long. Who gave Aether crystal fly cores on their birthday and spent hours chasing off slimes and helped Yuhua in humoring the kids in the snow. You are so much more than your pain. You have been suffering for so long and carrying so much with you, please let us help you carry some of it until you can let it go.” The Boss shushed him quietly when he whimpered at her words. 

“We can most likely, never understand the extent of everything you have gone through, but we can listen, and we can help you any way we can. You are safe here, and you're not alone.” Huai’an followed up with his wife's speech. 

Let it go? What a ridiculous notion. His problems were his own to deal with, others didn't need to be burdened with Xiao’s gore-sticky history and crippling mental health. That was a mentality he had carried for as long as he could remember but...he couldn't remember anyone ever offering to help him. And yet here these two were, offering to listen, to help, out of nothing but care for him and not asking for anything in return. And even though he didn't believe there was any help for him, even though he didn't think he deserved their kindness at all, a selfish, greedy part of him yearned. That small part of his heart tucked so deeply and quietly away screamed and yelled and cried for him to shut up and accept it. The same part of him that sighed and leaned closer when he was touched with care and enjoyed sitting in front of the ovens in the kitchen and staring up at the sky as the snow fell on his face. 

The longer he hesitated to respond, the louder that part of him became and Verr and Huai’an’s seemingly endless patience with him wasn't helping him at all. 

“I don't know how to. I can't ! I'm not-...I’m not supposed to...” He trailed off miserably, a hiccup taking over his throat. 

A deep look of concentration took over Verr’s features before she took a deep breath to speak. “I think the reason you think that is because it feels safe . You have been in pain for so long that you don't feel safe without it. Does that sound right?” Xiao balked at her words, unsure how to respond because the more he thought about the more that made sense and the more pathetic he felt. He inhaled to respond but choked on his own breath, another tremor of sobs wracking through him.

“It's okay, it's okay. We're here for you Xiao.” Huai’an, parchment, and lamp oil, deep and comforting.

“You’re allowed to let yourself heal Xiao.” And Verr, oak wood, and honey, soft and golden.

The last cord inside him snapped like a bowstring and the Adeptus’ breathing hitched and picked up and he wailed and sagged further into Huai’an, who held him tightly and barely shifted against the sudden weight. He stuttered and poured everything out to them. He told them about how he lost his wings, the agony and hatred he had been forced into, about how Rex Lapis had saved him, and how the other Yaksha, the only ones who had come close to understanding and cared about him had died off or gone crazy and he had had to watch all of it happen. He was nearly not understandable through his tears through some of it but the couple continued to hold him and listen through it all. He wept and sobbed until his throat was hoarse and he was exhausted with his face itchy from tears and then he cried even more. He cried and cried and cried till he nearly made himself sick. He fell apart completely in their arms and they held him together until he could calm down enough to stitch himself back together. Xiao would later resent himself and writhe in embarrassment at such an emotional display but for now, he simply cried and cried until he could hardly even sit up. Verr was crying too by the time Xiao’s tears had slowed to a near stop, with soft sniffles that she tried to hide and Huai’an was completely sobbing along with him. Their worry and care were palpable around him. 

He didn't know if he was worth saving if he was worth their tears and soft touches. But somehow, after everything, even though he didn't feel any better necessarily. Xiao could say that he didn't feel any pain. Just hollow and exhausted and relieved . He was relieved. There was no pain, and his head felt lighter and clearer than it had been in years. He cried himself to sleep surrounded by warm arms and blankets, and for once he was thankful for the warm cozy darkness of sleep. 

---------------

The late afternoon was warm today.

The late winter sunlight was warm on Xiao’s face and back and the large red and golden leaves were peaking back through the tree that housed the Inn as spring was fast approaching. Xiao had spent the entire day yesterday chasing around some fake Adeptus with the Traveler and he was thankful for the moment of peace he had now. He had needed to take an entire evening to himself up in the highest branches of the Inn’s tree to let his head cool from the annoyance at the blatant disrespect that mortal man posing as an Adeptus had shown. Everything had worked out in the end but Xiao was still a little sore over the incident. Xiao had to remind himself that this man did not know the horrors and hardships of war that the Adepti had fought in and the trials they had gone through over the centuries to protect Liyue. Xiao was never one for recognition or lavish offerings and worship, but the disrespect and ignorance to Liyue’s culture around the Adepti had upset him. So he had taken a break for the night and part of the morning, playing his flute and enjoying the sunny day. 

It was still difficult. Xiao had always taken his duty and his work very seriously, and the him of a few months ago would have scoffed at the notion of taking a break, especially this time of year…But he was trying . The itch to go out and fight off whatever he could find that was threatening the land was easier to ignore when every demon and monster alike was hidden or gone. The marshes were quiet today, despite lantern rite being in full swing now, the demons and monsters in the plains were all hiding or slumbering away and staying out of trouble right now. That or they had all but disappeared entirely thanks to Aether and a young exorcist who favored ice helping to subdue anything that popped up.

The Adeptus hummed and closed his eyes to savor the warmth of the sun that touched his face. He had never much cared about these things before, but he could admit that he liked warm things. That was something he had been working on in terms of himself. Smiley had called it “Appreciating the small things in life”. 

After crying himself to sleep in Verr and Huai’ans arms, he had stayed unconscious for almost an entire day. The staff had watched over him and made sure he stayed comfortable the entire time and when he had awoken, he was almost just a mess as before. Xiao had not much ever cared or bothered with desires or his feelings about himself and his past and everything , and trying to sort through all of the things he had refused to acknowledge for so long was overwhelming to think about. But Huai’an had reassured him that he didn't need to have all the answers right away. That opening up had been a very daunting first step. Xiao didn't know how much he believed the Inn owner about that, but he had agreed to focus on the small things first. Take things one step at a time. 

So he had. It had taken him a few days to gain enough confidence but he had started paying closer attention to himself, even more so than when had spent the day with Yuhua. He had discovered that he liked the rain. Like how refreshing it felt on his skin after a long battle, how it washed away the grime on his person and found himself standing out in the open fields of the marsh, long after necessary to be clean, and just enjoying the feeling of being in the rain. And now, seated up on the roof on a sunny day, he found he liked warm things too. Liked the sun and warm blankets and the ovens in the kitchen. He was still uncertain, the big elephant in the room still being just as obvious. 

What was he supposed to do now? Who was he supposed to be? His entire life, someone had told him what he was supposed to do and who he was supposed to be. He still didn't have an answer to that, and it still made anxiety swirl in his chest thinking about it, because he had a feeling he knew the answer but was too scared still to let it become an actual answer. But for now, in this little bubbled moment he didn't have to think about any of that. So he planned to spend what little was left of the day enjoying the sunlight and the rest of the night perched there to watch the sky. A content sigh left his lips as he rested his arms on his knees. 

Crash!

Or at least that would be his plan if there wasn't so much racket being kicked up below him. Verr and Huai’an had closed down the Inn entirely for the last week of the lantern rite festival, which was very hard to do as most traveling tourists relied on the Inns business during the rite, so currently, only the head staff were present and they were making an awful lot of noise, doing Archons knows what. If he had to guess they were locking down the wares and cleaning up as much as possible before departing from the Inn entirely for the next day or so. It was nearing evening, the sun dipping below the horizon and the night's chills just starting to settle over the ground, with the lantern lights of the harbor shining in the distance when the racket finally tapered off into the usual soft sounds of the nighttime. When there was just a sliver of daylight left, someone came up to the balcony. Heavy steps made dust skitter off the edge of the roof.

Xiao assumed it was Xi, the head maid, or her new assistant Sunny, the Fontainain girl whose mother had been incarcerated, and thus he didn't think much of it. Not until a slim hand popped over the side of the roof and scrambled to find purchase and the tiles. 

“Lift me a little higher!” A raspy feminine voice.

“I'm trying, you're heavy, ya know.” A deeper, gravely voice. Xiao raised an eyebrow and scooted closer to peer over the edge. Smiley Yanxiao was hoisting Huangshan up as high as he could towards the roof as she tried to climb up the rest of the way. 

“Why Smiley Yanxiao! Buy me a drink first!” Huangshan snarked as she was finally able to get her torso up on the roof. 

“Can it you little gremlin, you know I don't swing that way!”  The disgruntled sous chef replied and shoved under her thighs till she was full on the roof. Huangshan fumbled a bit on her balance and Xiao reached out to steady her. She looked different. For one she was now wearing the Wangshu Inn’s uniform, albeit a style more suited for fighting than the classic dresses and hanfu. Her ankle had fully healed as well, seeing as she was able to climb up onto the roof as she did. Verr Goldet must have offered her a long-term permanent position as part of the Staff. Once settled she brushed off her shorts and faced him, both of them kneeling on the roof now. 

“Howdy Xiao!” 

“Hi…” he responded, somewhat at a loss as to what to do in this situation. He expected most of the staff to have left the Inn by now, on route to the harbor to take part in the celebrations as the time for the releasing of the Mingxiao lantern grew closer as the sky darkened. So being confronted by Huangshan of all people on the roof had thrown off his expectations a little. 

 “Why are you...here?” He asked. 

Huangshan smiled sharply, a glint in her eye that made his stomach uncomfortable, and the urge to run took root in his feet. Survival instincts were there for a reason and Xiao had never been one to ignore them. With the little interaction he had with the brash young woman, Xiao knew that Huangshan was…unpredictable. Reckless and blunt and straightforward. Her abrasive personality had always been refreshing but tiring to be around for the Adeptus personally and despite seeming like a brute, Xiao knew she was incredibly intelligent. Sharp gazes and a no-nonsense attitude armed her with a great arsenal of interacting with people and evaluating her options and surroundings. And Xiao did not like the dangerous mischievous look she was giving him.

 “Do you know what my occupation is Xiao?” She asked, and shifted so she was more in a crouch than a kneel, a light defensive position, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. The urge to run grew exponentially. 

“You are a guard for hire.” He shifted away from her an inch or two as she kept smiling at him like that, his sense of self-preservation screaming at him.  

“Yes! I am! I escort people from Point A to point B.” Huangshan threw a bright smile his way and Xiao didn't understand where she was going with this but his fight or flight was getting antsier and antsier the longer she spoke, and he felt himself twitch. Should he reach for his spear? Or to hold on to the roof tile? Or kick her? 

“So! I am here to escort you from point A to point B….” she finished and trailed off. Several seconds of tense silence ensued between them and Xiao slowly caught on to her meaning, before the quiet snapped like a wire and Xiao bolted . He scuffed his boots noisily against the smooth blue tiles and was on his feet in a flash and up and moving to sprint across the roof and dive off into the Dihua Marsh below.

“Nope!’ Huangshan was almost just as fast as he was, her crouch preparing her to launch herself up and manipulating her center of gravity till she was close enough that she could wrap her arms around his middle from behind, pinning his arms to his side, and hauling him off the roof tiles bodily. Holding him tight, her entire torso was pressed against his back, making him sweat nervously at the proximity. The Adeptus kicked his swinging feet, knocking into her shins, and wriggled, trying to break free and get her to drop him, but her iron grip on him wasn't budging. 

“Geez stop moving! You are awfully heavy for someone so short, and squirmy too!” Huangshan grunted and half carried, half dragged him over to the same spot she had climbed up to the roof originally. 

“Let me go!” He hissed at her and bared his fangs at the blunt young woman. Huangshan ignored him and stepped to the edge and peered down at Smiley who was waiting on the balcony below with a pensive expression and large arms crossed over his chest.

“You ready?!” She called down to the chef, unnecessarily loud, and made Xiao flinch minutely at the sound. 

“Wait...ready for what?!” A note of panic took over Smiley’s features as Huangshan laughed heartily and threw herself and the Yaksha in her arms off the roof. Xiao’s stomach swooped as they plummet the short distance to the balcony and landed directly on Smiley Yanxiao, who catches them, barely, falling over himself in a heap of limbs. 

“You're insane!” Smiley yells as he sits up from their sprawled-out spot on the balcony. 

“Only as much as I need to be!” Huangshan replied and wiggled her way out from underneath Smiley's arms. The impact had dislodged them enough that Huangshan had lost her hold on Xiao and the guardian took his chance to scurry to his feet and leave . He hadn't even made it to a standing position when heavily muscled arms wrapped him up in a crude parody of an embrace. 

“Nope.” Smiley held him tight no matter how much he moved and fought. Xiao growled and glared at them both. 

“What is the meaning of this?” He glowered up at Smiley. 

“Relax Grumpily! It's nothing bad, we promise.” Huangshan ruffled his hair, mussing up the strands and Xiao made a noise of protest at not even being able to bat at her hands due to being held so tightly. 

“We'd like you to come to the Lantern Rite with us!” Huangshan exclaimed. 

“I have already told Aether, I will not go to the Harbor. We talked about crowded places. Do not make me repeat myself!” He said firmly and Smiley shook his head in response before replying. 

“No Harbor, we just have something to show you okay?” 

“What is that supposed to mean?!”

“Humor us, please?” Smiley sighed. 

The Yaksha narrowed his eyes in suspicion but ultimately sighed and nodded his head after several moments of pleading faces from the two. Huangshan cheered quietly and threw her fists up and Smiley shook his head fondly as he climbed to his feet. Huangshan rose up and offered a hand to Xiao. The Yaksha hesitated to take it, still unsure and flighty. But the guard for hire was patient and smiled at him softly, her hand still and steady. Xiao eventually took it and allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet. 

He was...working on it. But he still wasn't used to this. Being touched with no intention of harm was not something he was familiar with. 

None of the other Adepti had ever been particularly clingy, at least not for many many years and the situation had simply never arisen after the war had ended. But the Wangshu Inn staff seemed to be hell-bent on making sure he knew that they were there for him, even more so after the storm and all that had followed. Xiao did not necessarily dislike all the new interactions and friendly touches, he just...didn't know how to respond to it. Not yet anyway.

 Smiley and Huangshan wrapped their arms around Xiaos, flanking him on either side and leading him down the stairs toward the main lobby. Xiao frowned and wiggled around in their hold. 

“I can walk perfectly fine by myself.” He grumbled and Huangshan patted his head with an amused glimmer in her eyes. 

“We know.” she begins, “But today you are our precious cargo to be escorted so this only makes sense to escort you doesn't it?”  The guard pinched his cheek softly as they made their way through the exit that led down the main stairs that spiraled around the Inn. The sun had set fully by now and twilight embers clung to the corners of the Inn. They were halfway down the stairs and Xiao was just starting to become uncomfortable with the prolonged contact when he felt it.

 Sunlight warm energy, steady and strong, spiked in the area bringing chocolate-colored tones and golden waves of adeptal energy. He knew that energy. Xiao stood straighter and craned his neck around to spot the source of the presence. 

“I told you he’d get twitchy,” Smiley spoke up from his side, but Xiao paid little mind to him, too busy scanning around, looking for the former Archon that must be here somewhere. The farther they descended the stronger it became and another presence joined in, this one smaller, less powerful, soft blue and just as warm, but with cool undertones that were not unpleasant on his senses. Stepping on the boardwalk at the bottom of the Inn, Smiley and Huangshan led him back to the far corner by the water, where an interesting gathering was being held. 

A large round table had been set up with golden table cloths and a plethora of food had been laid out upon it, almond tofu included. Xiao Lanterns had been strung up in a rather lovely display around the table, casting the area in warm golden-orange light. More festival decorations had also been strung up and an entire food stand had been built, decor and all off to the side. Yuhua was setting plates and chopsticks on the table and Verr, and the cool blue energy now known as Ganyu were carefully placing and arranging the dishes. Finally spotting the source of the warm adeptal energy was Zhongli who was off to the side having a pleasant conversation with Huai’an, as they both worked to make sure all the lanterns were secure on their strings and posts. 

“You wouldn't go to the festival, so we brought the festival to you!” Huangshan yelled too close to his ears and swept her arm in a wide arc to display the setup. 

“You "brought the festival to me"?” He questioned, blinking slowly. Huangshan and Smiley release his arms but remain by his side and the sous chef cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention. 

Heads turn towards them at the sound. Yuhua waved cheerily and Verr smiled softly at him. The half qilin approaches on light feet upon seeing him along with Zhongli, who has set down the lantern he was re-stringing. Ganyu has a worried expression on her face and Zhongli is much the same although much more subdued. 

“Sir, Ganyu, what are you both doing-umph!” Xiao is cut off as the former Geo Archon envelopes him in a hug. The Adeptus’ face is squished into Zhongli’s chest and his arms are awkwardly pinned to his sides. Warm, Zhongli is warm and Xiao is completely wrapped up in his arms and he is taken aback for a moment because Zhongli is hugging him. His Archon had always made it clear that he cared for Xiao but had never shown it well, always steadfast and logical with high expectations. Such blatant affection was…daunting. 

“S-Sir?” Xiao squeaks and Zhongli squeezes him a little tighter before pulling back enough to look him in the eyes. 

“Hello Xiao.” he says and smiles. all light and fond. 

“You’re…here…” Xiao responds, still thrown off by the embrace and confused. He looks from Zhongli to Ganyu, who was hovering over his shoulder. 

“Xiao! We're here to see you!” Ganyu explained. Xiao’s mind blanked for a moment, unknowing as to why they were here. His confusion must have been obvious because Ganyu continued. 

“We heard you were having a hard time and we wanted to come see you.” 

“Yes, and…I believe I myself, owe you an apology, Xiao.” Zhongli’s smooth voice was tinged with concern and Xiao’s eyes widened at his statement. Rex Lapis? Apologize? Apologize to him ? For what? The elder continued with a sad smile. 

  “I hadn't known that things were so bad for you after the Rite of Descension. I was callous and did not consider your feelings and thoughts about dissolving your contract at all when Rex Lapis passed. I will not take back my decision nor will I say I was not selfish, but I understand now that I should have had more concern over how it would affect you, how it affected all of the Adepti.” He paused and turned to Ganyu who hovered worriedly at their sides. “That apology extends to you as well, little qilin. I promised Guizhong I would look after you both, and I have failed so spectacularly at that.” He finished and Xiao felt tears well in his eyes but refused to let them fall. Ganyu surged up, her own eyes glassy. 

“Sir! No! You have always been there for us!” She blubbers tears already starting to overflow. Zhongli smiled wider and shifted a single hand to her head, rubbing over the baby blue curls. “I still should have been more present. I hope you both will be able to forgive me one day.” Xiao purses his lips and moves fist a hand in the former Archons jacket. 

“I already do.” He replies and Ganyu hastily repeats the same, around her tears. Zhongli gathered them both into a hug, the shorter two barely reaching shoulders as they both quietly hiccuped into his coat. 

“I am proud of you both, and I promise you will see more of me.” He said quietly, voice stuttering a little as he held in his tears. Xiao resisted the urge to nuzzle closer to his former master, a deep sense of belonging filling him being safely tucked in the taller’s arms. After several minutes of heartfelt embrace, they pulled away from one another.

Zhongli inhaled to say something, but before he could, Ganyu startled, whipping her head from Zhongli and dislodging his hand on her shoulder, to look at Xiao and the Yaksha blinked at her in surprise. 

“I too, owe you an apology, Xiao! I should never have let our relationship grow so distant.” She cups his face in her hands, squishing his cheeks and looking into his eyes intensely. After the Archon war had settled and the other Yaksha had died off or disappeared, Ganyu and Xiao had grown more and more distant. They were never particularly close in the first place, but closeness comes when you fight alongside one another for your lives and the lives of a nation. Enduring the hardships that they had together had given them a connection. All of the elder Adepti, who were present during wartime had shared it at one point or another. But centuries of peace, and little reason to stand in arms beside one another again, had led them to grow apart and let their relationship fade. 

“I promise to make more time to visit from now on, okay? You can always talk to me. I want to be here for you.” Ganyu says seriously. Xiao grunts at her firm grip and wiggles to be able to respond around her gloved hands. 

“I thought…you were scared of me.” He finally gets out. Ganyu had always been shy and hesitant around him, and even more so after they had grown apart. Polite nods and awkward glances were how they communicated after that. Xiao had figured that Ganyu, like most everyone, was frightened of getting close to him, and she kept her distance. Even when she had asked him to help train her abilities as an Adeptus, she had been reserved and withdrawn from him. 

Upon hearing these thoughts, Ganyu bursts into tears. Xiao flinches, not sure how to react to such an emotional outburst. The half qilin draped her arms around his shoulder, crying noisily into the crook of his neck. Ganyu had always been kind-hearted and sensitive, always the closest to the humans of Liyue, outside of Guizhong, and Xiao had always somehow managed to make her cry. Even when just trying to speak with her he would say something too harshly or make a scary expression and make her cry. Even after millennia he still didn't know how to calm her down or rectify his actions. 

“W-Why would I be scared of you! Y-You’re my brother!” She sobs into his shoulder and squeezes him in a desperate hug. Ganyu had never..none of the Adepti had ever, ever , referred to him in familial terms. He did not know how he felt about it entirely, but his heart swelled and soared and tears stung his eyes yet again. Xiao hesitantly, and ever so slowly, wrapped his arms around her in return. Ganyu was soft and her skin was cool to the touch but not unpleasant and her soft hair tickled the side of his face. 

“You’re still such a crybaby.” he huffed into her hair, exasperated and teary but fond. 

“Sh-Shuddap!” she wailed and clung to him tighter. A deep laugh beside them and warm large arms held them both tight as Zhongli joined in, tears at the corners of his own eyes. 

“Never forget that we are always here for you Xiao,” he said and smoothed the yaksha’s hair behind his ear. The pure sentiment in his voice makes Xiao choke up a little but he buries his nose deeper in Ganyu’s hair and doesn't come back up till he can breathe again after several moments. They all disentangle themselves eventually, but the tenderness of the moment still hangs in the air, the three immortals glassy-eyed and smiling bittersweetly. The old memories are still there, the voices are still there and it still hurts, but with Ganyu and Zhongli both here, saying they care and that they want to help him, it hurts a little less. 

“Ms. Goldet informed us that you were not feeling well,” Zhongli said and handed his silk handkerchief to a still sobbing Ganyu, who fumbled to wipe her eyes. Xiao supposed that was… a nice way of putting it. 

“We know you don't like crowds but we still wanted to do something nice for you for the Lantern Rite.” Verr spoke up, smoothing her hands down her dress and standing next to Zhongli.  Xiao...didn't know what to think. Lantern Rite was always a very hectic time of year for him. The festive spirit and increased activity among the harbor always had a tendency to draw out the old hatred and the monsters in the plains and marshes were more active. 

“I..” He didn't know what to say either. The youngest Adeptus felt caged in with so many expectant eyes on him and his shoulders steadily rose to his ears at the attention. Verr had a sweet smile and hopeful look in her eyes and Yuhua and Huangshan were gazing at him with judgment and expectations in their eyes. He shivered and looked around at all the lanterns and decorations that had been strung up. The setup was tucked back in the far corner of the boardwalk and was enclosed enough to feel cozy and warm but open enough that the Guardian didn't feel claustrophobic or trapped and the warm lights cast alluring orange and yellow lights on everyone's faces. The food smelled enticing even to him and only the Inn staff were here as Wangshu was closed down for the week. Xiao had to admit that it felt warm, and safe here, his constantly fraying nerves and pain only a quiet buzz in the back of his head. His arms came up instinctively to cross over his chest and his shoulders hiked up at feeling everyone's expectant gaze that was still on him. 

“It's...nice I guess.” He finally said and heard a whispered cheer from Yuhua behind him, making him flinch at the noise and his face paint itself in pink. A deep chuckle and a large thin hand on his shoulder had him looking up at Zhongli, who smiled softly at him and asked. “Do you need a moment?”

Xiao nodded and the former Archon gently diverted attention to himself by catching Yuhua and Smiley into a discussion with a question of “Have you ever had osmanthus steeped tea?”. Xiao was left alone in a brightly lit corner of the setup and buried his face in his hands, breathing deeply to dispel the uncomfortable feeling of being the center of attention. He appreciated everything and found he rather enjoyed the warm atmosphere they had created but there were too many people all looking at him and expecting…expecting something from him and he didn't know what that something was. A positive reaction seemed the most logical but he was a weapon that only knew how to demand death. He wasn't made for gentle things and warm light-hearted gatherings. An old familiar white static started to fill his head but before he could spiral too far into his thoughts, a soft flutter and gentle voice arose behind him. 

Rhythmic taps of delicate talons across the rough boardwalk alerted him to another arrival. The hue on his cheeks increased and made his ears warm when he felt a slender beak ruffle through his hair, gently preening his scalp as smooth but steady energy folded around him and shrouded his senses in golds and blues.

“Cloud Retainer....” He grumbled as pale blue and white feathers entered his vision and settled over his shoulders, but he did not try to move away from the elder Adepti’s ministrations. It had been a long time since Cloud Retainer had shown him affection this way. 

“Conqueror of Demons, one was informed you were in need of comfort and one's presence.” The crane hummed and fluffed her feathers around his bare shoulders, leaving a pleasant tingling sensation behind.

“I require no such thing.” Xiao protested and Cloud Retainer nipped his ear, making him flinch. 

“Nonsense. If needed, one will always be here to remind the Baby Yaksha of how valued he is.” 

“Do not call me that!” The Yaksha scowled at the old nickname that the other Yaksha had given him all those years ago to make fun of his short height and young age compared to the rest of them. He shook his head furiously to dislodge Cloud Retainer from his hair and she fluffed her feathers around him and briefly adjusted her wings before dipping her long neck to again resume preening his hair.

“As you wish, Baby Yaksha.” Xiao grumbled and tried to wiggle away from the elder bird this time but Cloud Retainer was having none of it, and simply continued to preen his hair as he squirmed in her feathery hold. Xiao huffed and resigned himself to being stuck there for a moment under the crane's gentle affection. He in all seriousness wasn't that bothered. Childish nickname aside, it had been a very long time since any of the other Adepti had done more than nod his way when they crossed paths every few years or so, and he was hesitant to admit that he did sort of miss their attention. The elegant Adeptus hummed and lifted her head to set her gaze to Mountain Shaper, who had touched down on the boardwalk with a soft clack a few feet from them. The crimson red crane grimaced and averted his gaze, his feathers ruffling in unease. Mountain Shaper looked out of place and increasingly uncomfortable under Cloud Retainer's sharp green gaze and shuffled awkwardly to one side, attempting to slip by and avoid them both. 

“Mountain Shaper! Bring one's anti-social backside over here!” Cloud Retainer called and the rosy-hued bird froze in his steps, golden eyes snapping to Cloud Retainers in a tense staring contest. Seconds passed in silence before Mountain Shaper quickly attempted to sprint off and away from them, bolting across the boardwalk to the shadowy corners behind the table that the lanterns didn't quite fill. Mountain Shaper was halted in his escape by a wide jade colored head adorned with sprawling antlers that glowed faintly golden at the ends. 

“Oh no, you don’t you old hermit. You will greet the Baby Yaksha.” Moon Craver nudged and prodded the resident of Mt Hulao over to Xiao and Cloud Retainer, the stag making sure to keep his large antlers from harming the smaller Adepti. 

“Not you too…” Xiao muttered and turned his burning face downwards at Moon Carver’s choice of name for him. Mountain Shaper soon stood before Xiao awkwardly shuffling from side to side. 

“Hello, Conquer of Demons-” Mountain Shaper’s curt greeting was cut off by a harsh nudge from Moon Carver. The smaller Adeptus fluffed his feathers in contempt before starting again. 

“Hello…Xiao.” He finally said, and the Yaksha blinked at his awkward and out of place demeanor. “It is nice…to…see you again.” he continued. Mountain Shaper and him were never particularly close. The fire-colored Adeptus used to be very involved with the Yaksha alongside Sky Bracer and had laughed and chided and treated them all like little nieces and nephews, but Xiao being the most reserved among the guardian spirits had always shied away from the attention. After Sky Bracer's death, Mountain Shaper had secluded himself and had become the most withdrawn and antisocial of all the Adepti, hardly ever leaving Mt. Hulao. It had been nearly a century since Xiao had last seen him. And Xiao…

Xiao understood that. 

He understood the deep raw pain and agony that grief manifested itself as. He understood the feeling of being alone and without your brothers in arms. And Xiao was now learning to understand that he didn't need to hold onto that feeling, it of course would never leave, but he didn't have to let it consume him to the point of self-despair. He still couldn't quite grasp that understanding by its whole, but he was starting to. Did Mountain Shaper understand that? The Yaksha knew that wasn't his place to ask, but he hoped that the crane's appearance here after whoever invited him, meant that he did. 

“It's nice to see you too.” Xiao responded after a moment of thought. The crane shifted uncomfortably again and Xiao continued somewhat stiltedly. “I am glad to see you…doing well.” 

The elder bird nodded and bent down to nuzzle at his hair, his movements stiff and lacking familiarity. Mountain Shaper was so obviously out of his element and unsure how to approach this situation and Xiao could relate. The shorter Adeptus appreciated the effort all the same. Moon Carver and Cloud Retainer finally took pity on the crane and let him leave, although he did brush his wing along Xiao's side in a friendly display of affection before gliding off to seclude himself for a while. 

“You'll have to be lenient with him.” Moon Carver addressed Xiao. 

“It has been a long time since he has been around so many people. But he does care for you, just as we all do.” Cloud Retainer added and the Guardian nodded, understanding making his tense muscles loosen after the arduous greeting. The calm, easy moment was interrupted by the arrival of Aether. They swooped in with Paimon at their side, carrying a large dish of golden shrimp balls over their head like a trophy. 

“This is the last of it!” Aether declared and set the larger plate down on the grand table with a flourish of their cape. Their floating companion drooled at the sight of all the food and Aether held her back by her scarf from ravaging the display.

“Okay! Let's eat!” They exclaimed and released the food happy demon in their grasp to take a seat at the table themselves. Cloud Retainer shuffled over to the table and finally released Xiao from her feathery prison with one last affectionate nuzzle to his hair. Xiao spotted Moon Carver nudging a reluctant mountain shaper over to the table and accosted the bothered crane to settle beside Ganyu. The shortest Adeptus ended up being sandwiched between Verr Goldet and Zhongli, and Smiley set a portion of almond tofu in front of him. 

“We made sure to prepare enough that everyone will have something they like.” Yuhua chimed in as she untied her apron and took a seat next to Huangshan, smoothing out her skirt as she did so. Xiao looked down at the serving of Sweet Dream, a recipe for almond Tofu that he and Smiley had come up with during the snowstorms, and noticed that the color of the dish was off. The normal golden brown syrup that coated the soft palatable dish was now tinged blue on this particular serving with a luminescent sheen to it. Xiao looked up at Smiley and the sous chef smiled. 

“I used lamp grass imported from Mondstat to give it a crisper flavor. Let me know what you think!” Smiley ruffled his hair and moved to the other side of the table to take a seat. Xiao brought a spoonful to his mouth, letting the sweet flavor sit on his tongue. It was stronger than the usual sweet simple flavor and sat lightly on his taste buds with a sharp refreshing tang. Xiao nodded towards Smiley to show his agreement in the dish’s alterations and the sous chef beamed and pumped his fist to himself in victory. 

“Conqueror of demons, One thinks you should expand one's palette beyond desserts and sweet treats.” Cloud Retainer spoke to him from across the lavish table. XIao set down his spoon and let his brows furrow in her direction. 

“I do not require food or sustenance the way mortals do, and neither do you, Cloud Retainer.” He scoffed. 

“Perhaps not, but intaking cuisine besides sugary sweets would not do you any harm.” The elegant crane fluffed her wings in his direction. Verr Goldet nodded from his side and set down her chopsticks to add her own comment. 

“I agree. Ingesting something more nutritious might do you some good, and it certainly wouldn't hurt you.” The redhead reached over and gently pinched his cheek playfully making him scrunch his eyes and make a noise of protest while batting her hands away.

Zhongli chuckled and said “Don’t chide him Cloud Retainer, your eating habits aren't much better.” Cloud Retainer huffed and straightened herself up further in an act of posturing, making Moon Carver clear his throat beside her to stifle a snort of amusement. 

“It still couldn't hurt to try something though! Why don't we try and cook something up for you with Smiley? If you don't like it you don't have to eat it but at least trying something new wouldn't be bad right?” Aether piped up from their spot at the end of the table alongside Paimon, who was vigorously stuffing a large portion of golden shrimp balls into her bottomless stomach. The youngest Adeptus let the thought wander through his head a moment. If it was prepared by the Traveller and Yanxiao, two chefs he trusted, it couldn't be too terrible. He relented. 

“Fine, I will try one dish.” He crossed his arms and closed his eyes at the happy cheer that erupted from the Traveler and Verr. 

“Hm, you know it's kind of surreal seeing so many Adepti like this.” Huai’an said, sipping some fragrant tea from a small cup. The stag across from him nodded in agreement. 

“It is strange for us too. We have not all gathered like this for many centuries.” Moon Carver responded and paused before continuing. “It is something we should do more often, I think.” 

“We should! I missed all of you.” Ganyu confessed. Nods of agreement came up around the table and whispers between Zhongli and Ganyu began, making plans for another gathering sometime in the near future. 

“You are not so grown that more precious memories cannot be created with you, Baby Yaksha.” Xiao glared at Huangshan’s muffled giggle at the name Cloud Retainer used for him. “One has many tales from when you and Little Ganyu were small.” Cloud Retainer continued. 

The half qilin adjacent to her groaned and hid her face in her hands. “Cloud Retainer, please don't.” Ganyu whined. Xiao shifted uncomfortably seeing where Cloud Retainer was trying to take the conversation.

“Cloud Retainer please do!” Huangshan piped up, slapping her hands on the table with a mischievous teasing grin. “Tell us all the embarrassing baby stories about Xiao!” She continued. 

“Here we go again.” An exasperated grumble from Aether. 

“That won't be necessary.” He added, trying to dissuade the looming topic. “It really won't be!” Ganyu tacked on with embarrassed distress in her voice. 

“Such tales are entertaining and fond in One’s memories! They should of course be shared amongst loved ones!” The white crane went on and Ganyu groaned, letting her forehead fall to the table. “One remembers when the Baby Yaksha had upset Little Ganyu with harsh words and made her cry tears, and in an effort to make amends presented her with an assortment of qixing flowers. Little Ganyu had ingested the gifted flora and upset Xiao, thinking she had rejected his gift. It created such havoc that Lady Guizhong had to intervene to stop the both of you from any further unruly behavior!” Cloud Retainer's story elicited humorous expressions and laughter around the table, making Ganyu try to hide inside her arms. Yuhua snorted into her noodles and Smiley failed miserably at holding a straight face. XIao himself crossed his arms and closed his eyes tightly, fighting off the embarrassed flush that made his ears warm. 

“Cloud Retainer do not tease the young ones!” Moon Carver sipped his tea and chastised Cloud Retainer further after a moment. “ You are not without your embarrassing moments yourself.” 

“What lies!” The White Crane’s decorative head feathers fluffed in agitation at the stag. 

“I recall when you were at odds with Mountain Shaper for spilling sweet wine on your mechanical blueprints. You chased him around Jueyen Karst for hours. I had to force you two to make amends.” Moon Carver said with a sly smile. Zhongli snickered behind his hand at Cloud Retainer’s affronted expression. 

“Mountain Shaper deserved one's ire at his behavior.” She defended herself. The crimson crane huffed incredulously at her.

“You tried to rip my tail feathers out!” He exclaimed. 

“Ah yes, unruly behavior indeed.” Moon Carver sipped at his tea cooly while Cloud Retainer’s feathers puffed up on the back of her head. Huai’an snorted into his jewelry soup and poorly hidden laughter arose from around the gathered guests. 

“One no longer wishes to speak of such things!” Cloud Retainer retorted hotly, making Huai’an devolve into full-on choked laughter. Even Xiao cleared his throat at the bothered Crane's reaction. 

The rest of the evening passed smoothly, with more embarrassing stories from the elder Adepti, and fables told in long-winded reprises from Zhongli. There was laughter and merriment oozing from everyone present. Xiao couldn't deny how warm and safe he felt surrounded by everyone he knew and was close to. Zhongli was a warm steady presence beside him, and the smooth golden voice was soothing in a way that made Xiao feel nostalgic. The eldest Adeptus was what held them together after Guizhong passed, but has never quite filled in the role of caretaker that the goddess left behind. He still tried, and to see him coming back together to hold them all in one place made Xiao feel warmer than he had in years. 

Verr and Huai’an were warmth incarnate, with gentle hands that ruffled his hair and squeezed his shoulders whenever he started to get antsy being surrounded by so many other people. The couple had a knack for picking up on his behavior and moods even before he himself figured it out sometimes, and were quick to act. Ganyu shot him soft smiles across the table which he returned with hesitant nods, and he shared his almond tofu with her while she offered her own golden shrimp balls. Xiao didn't care for the dish at all, and it made his stomach churn at the hearty seafood, but he held his tongue and accepted the offering nonetheless. Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver both took delight in teasing Cloud Retainer, with the glare the white crane offering promising revenge at a later date for the treatment. Xiao for once found himself eating his fill of food until he was full, almond tofu and grilled Ticker Fish being the most of his appetite.

 Eventually, things wound down after the food was eaten and the festive air had slowed and settled. Aether and Paimon had come to leave early, quoting they needed to stop at the adventurers guild before going to the city to see the MingXiao Lantern, and were sent off with well wishes and goodbyes. Aether and Paimon had come to leave early, quoting they needed to stop at the adventurers guild before going to the city to see the MingXiao Lantern, and were sent off with well wishes and goodbyes. Zhongli and Ganyu left not long after, the Qilin smothering her brother in a tight hug and Zhongli fondly smoothing his hair down. Some bickering ensued upon the three remaining Adepti’s departure, with Cloud Retainer refusing to leave at the same time as Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper, claiming to not desire to share the same space as them after their earlier teasing. She was eventually appeased with some sweet pudding to be sent home with from Yuhua and a promise to meet again from Verr. The three Adepti took their leave shortly after, leaving only the Inn staff and Xiao behind. 

“Thank you…for dinner.” The Adeptus said cooly, addressing those still gathered. Huai’an smiled in his direction and Verr responded with “Your welcome, Dear.” 

“Now that we're done with the most imhabitualizedportant part of the celebration, I should be heading out to see the Mingxiao Lantern. I promised Xihua I would meet up with her just inside the city before they release it.” Yuhua said, clasping a light coat around her shoulders and adjusting her boots to gear up for the walk. Verr and Huai’an also gathered themselves together, with obvious intention to follow. 

“Don’t worry about the Inn, we can hold down the fort for ya guys!” Huangshan exclaimed, nudging Smiley none too gently with her elbow. Xiao himself was just beginning to climb the first stair back to the rooftop balcony when Verr Goldet addressed him. 

“Come with us, Xiao.” 

The Adeptus hesitated on the step, turning to face them before speaking. “You may take your leave. There's nothing for me over there.”

“Please Xiao? You might as well keep us company on the way there.” Yuhua pleaded, her eyes welling up big and sad like little Tia’s did when she wanted more sweets from Smiley after dinner. 

“O Vigilant Yaksha, please escort us safely to the city.” Huai’an feigned a dramatic hand against his forehead in a mock swoon. 

“I already told you, I am not fond of crowded areas. I... detest the rabble. No cares in the world, so peaceful, so joyful...They are nothing like me. Too long have I spent slaughtering, accompanied by the burden of suffering that follows in its wake. Crossing paths with all those jubilant people will only make me…” He paused, not meaning to have gotten so emotional.

”...That's all I have to say.” He finished. The thought of the crowded harbor with all the overwhelming feelings and prayers and wishes in the air assaulting his ears, and all the wishes he held for himself, made him want to crawl into the treetops and never come down again. The Lantern Rite festival made his emotions squeeze and churn in all sorts of ways he wasn't able to puzzle out. Not that he was ever that good at recognizing them anyway. Such useless things had always been a headache to deal with. 

“The city itself and the Mingxiao Lantern may not be your thing, but... surely, there's no harm in taking a walk with us.” Verr added, standing next to her husband and subtly hip-checking him to stand up straight again from his childish plea. 

“The road from here to Liyue Harbor is long and full of dangers... We need someone to ensure our safety, you know! Please, Xiao!” Yuhua came to stand next to them with her arms held in front of her, hands clasped in prayer. 

“You don't have to enter the city...You can just see them off at the outskirts.” Smiley called from where he and Huangshan were clearing the table of the food and decorations. Xiao paused. Perhaps..it would not be so bad if he only escorted them to the city entrance. As long as he did not enter the harbor…he supposed it would be acceptable. 

“...Hmph. So be it. I shall accept your proposal.” Xiao crossed his arms and averted his gaze at the soft smiles from the Inn owners and Yuhua. Huai’an wrapped his arm around Verr’s waist and responded.

“All right! Let's be off then shall we?” 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warm wind twirled around Xiao’s hair as he followed along behind the three mortals. They had walked across Guili plains with no incident, all monsters and demons hiding or otherwise nonhostile. Xiao had taken a step towards a camp of hillichurls along the side of the path, but Huai’an had nudged his shoulder, stating they were dozing and had paid no attention to them as they traveled by peacefully. Now they were approaching the Harbor, an incline leading down into the stonemasons that guarded the entrance. Just before making the descent, the Yaksha stopped, gaining the other three’s attention. 

“This is as far as I will go. Please see yourselves into the city.” 

Yuhua came up to him and gave his arm a soft squeeze. “I’ll see you back at the Inn tomorrow okay?” The Adeptus nodded and watched as the young woman waved cheerily as she jogged off down the slope and met up with a woman that looked exactly like her, sans the dark glasses perched on her face. 

“Are you sure you don't want to go with us?” Verr asked as she and Huai’an hovered nearby, hesitating on going into the city. 

“Go watch your lanterns.” He said and nodded once again to them both. The couple relented, moving to turn away. Verr stepped close, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead, right where the diamond mark rested. 

“Take care,” she said and pulled away to leave. Xiao hesitated, stopping a moment as he reached for them both but stopped short. He decided, impulsively, to make an offer to them that he did not make lightly and hadn't made in centuries. 

“Verr, Huai’an.” He called. They turned back to him, questioning. 

“Stay vigilant. Keep your eyes open for any menace. If you find yourself in trouble... speak my name, I will hear you.” He stated.

They exchanged a look that Xiao couldn't decipher. “You’ll hear us?” Verr asked, cautiously confused. 

“Anywhere. Anytime. Whether yours or Liyue's, I hear all cries for help, all prayers for peace, and all the wishes carried by the lanterns.” He promised, a fist held to his chest in a salute of respect, learned and habituated long ago. 

Verr and Huai’an nodded and with one last hug and kiss to his hair, they were off. Xiao stayed, and watched until they had breached the city gates. Once they were safely inside, and out of his line of sight, the guardian sighed deeply and turned to make the long trek back to the Inn. 

A loud explosion halted him in his tracks and he spun to face the harbor, instincts on high alert and his spear swirling into existence already gripped in his hands. Sharp eyes flew around to locate the source of danger. Xiao relaxed upon realizing there was no danger and the loud noise was from a loud firecracker bursting into an array of purple and green light in the dark sky. It appeared that was the signal for the festivities to begin. 

Light began to spread throughout the harbor, all the streets lighting up in brilliant golds and oranges as the MingXiao Lantern, a perfect rendition of Sky Bracer came to life with the plaustrite and adept sigils powering it. The image of the stag shook itself off the building construct, a flowing trail of bright light and glitter left behind as it launched through the harbor, sending Lanterns up in its wake from the jubilant citizens. The dark purple sky filled with light as lanterns rose above the water, scattering slowly and drifting into one another as they went. Xiao looked up in awe at the display. He had...never been so close to the Harbor when they released the MingXiao Lantern. He had always seen it from a far distance, just small specs of light on the horizon. To see such beauty so close…A sense of wonder filled him as he lowered himself to sit upon the hill and watch. A soft sound whistled through the grass and water of the port, slowly rising in volume until the Adeptus could make it out. 

Wishes. It was people's wishes that were written on the lanterns. Like threads dancing along with the paper lanterns, and if Xiao focuses, he can gently pull on a single thread until it bursts into a real sentence in his mind. 

“Please let my grandfather's business prosper this year.” 

“I wish for the health and prosperity of Liyue Harbor.” 

“I wish Bà ba and I have lots of fun cooking again this year” 

Soft wishes and voices flitted through the wind on each lantern, settling in XIao’s ears. It was not overwhelming like he had thought it would be, and Xiao closed his eyes and let them wash over him and be carried out to the sea by the winds. 

“I wish my music would be recognized.” 

“I wish to find my sibling.” 

“Xiao…”

The Yaksha jolted at his name, distorted barley there whispering. Opening his eyes and sitting up, he finds the thread, golden brown and cream-colored, takes hold of it, and pulls until it's clear as a day.

“I wish to hear Xiao play the flute again.”

Yuhua’s voice. The waitress’s wish twirled around his head before soaring away, back into the sea of glittering gold around him. He supposes he could indulge Yuhua in this simple wish. She was, after all, the one who gifted him the instrument. 

The next wish that he heard was Verr Goldets, a selfless wish written on delicate thin paper of a lantern, that made his heart swell, and his breath catch in his throat. 

“I wish for Xiao to find his own happiness.” 

The corners of Xiao’s mouth turned upwards as he continued to gaze up into the lights upon the sea, floating around him in a mesmerizing manner. For over Millenium, Xiao had thought himself a weapon, a non-human thing that was bound by an iron will and only lived to serve a purpose. At first a tool of destruction that was used to harm and inflict pain under Osial. He had hated and cried every second he was forced to do the vile God's bidding. Then a sharpened weapon was used to protect and bear the suffering of others so they did not have to, under Rex Lapis. He would always be grateful to the Geo Archon for no longer requiring him to kill indiscriminately. 

He had started as Alatus, a desperate, destructive beast that only served his master, writhing in agony under the pain of a war that he was thrust into. Then he was Xiao, the anemo Yaksha that served under the Lord of Geo alongside 4 others and put an end to the dead gods' continued hatred, at the cost of his own sanity. And now…now he wasn't sure who he was yet. He was just now starting to learn who he was, what he liked, and what he wanted to do now that the age of the gods was ending in Liyue. 

 His own happiness? Xiao didn't really know what that looked like, but for the first time since he could remember, he felt like he was starting to have hope that it was possible to find such a thing.