𝗜 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗚𝗢 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 ✦ 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 [OLD]
𝗔𝗵𝗮, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿
"...can you put me down yet?"
"Nope."
Y/n huffed, giving up completely as she allowed Aether to carry her over his shoulder.
"Y'know I'd willingly help you if you gave me a proper apology." y/n pointed out and Aether gave her a curious look.
"Apologize for what?" he questioned.
Y/n blinked once. Then twice.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT!?? YOU KIDNAPPED ME!" y/n shrieked then began kicking again, "PUT ME DOWN ALREADY, THE FACT THAT YOU'RE DROPDEAD GORGEOUS DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN JUST KIDNAP ME!!!"
"Paimon thinks you should put y/n down." Paimon piped in as y/n continued flailing, "Like... she did help us earlier."
"Exactly! Listen to Paimon!" y/n agreed and her eyes brightened when Aether put her down, "Yes! Freedom!"
She cleared her throat then extended a hand, "Okay, let's restart. Hi, my name's y/n. You are?"
"Aether." the blond replied and went to shake y/n's hand only for the girl to slap him with it.
"THAT'S FOR KIDNAPPING ME YOU CREEP!" y/n snapped then took a deep breath, "I can take you to Mountain Shaper, Cloud Retainer and the so called Conqueror of Demons but after that, I get to leave. Got it?"
"Got it." Paimon chirped while Aether rubbed his face, y/n's sudden slap leaving him somewhat stunned.
•••
Upon getting to Mt. Hulao, y/n was a little bit worried. There were so many lumps of amber, she began to wonder if coming was a good idea.
"Oh, there's someone up ahead." y/n murmured then shuffled behind Aether with a, "You go first."
Aether sighed heavily but walked ahead, y/n peeking out from behind him with her hands on his shoulders.
She flinched at the sound of a voice with a frightened, "EEK! WHO'S THAT!?"
Aether gave y/n an exasperated look, "Y/n, calm down, it's a person."
"A PERSON!?" y/n cried then blinked, relaxing, "Oh, a person. That's fine."
"Have mercy, O mighty adeptus!" this new person was whimpering as the three slowly approached, "I beg you... Show mercy upon me and my brother... Spare our lives!"
"What's wrong?" Aether asked simply.
Y/n flinched when the dude turned to them, letting out a mini shriek as she hid behind Aether again.
"...Oh, have mercy, mighty messengers of the illuminated adepti! I beg you to save us... my brother and I, we only came here because our family is poor, and we heard tell of treasures hidden in the amber of Mt. Hulao." the guy rambled, y/n barely even being able to keep up with him, "I had no idea how to rescue my brother, so I just started praying for the adepti to have mercy, right here on the spot. And now, at long last, two messengers come to my aid..."
Y/n deadpanned, "What? We're not adepti messengers..."
"We just wanna find the adepti, like everyone else." Aether added.
"No no no, you must be messengers... You have to be!" the guy exclaimed, shaking his head, "I have no idea which amber trapped him... Please, you have to rescue him! I beg you, show me some adepti mercy!"
"Oh, fine. I'll go have a look..." Aether sighed heavily, giving up completely.
"Thank you, thank you! O mighty messengers of the illuminated adepti, I promise that we will never be so foolish again!" this strange person cried.
"Of your transgressions, your predicament, and your repentance, one has become aware." Aether said sarcastically and y/n covered her mouth to hold back her laughter, turning away.
"Whoa, check you out! When you speak like that, you actually make a pretty convincing adepti messenger." Paimon exclaimed.
"Why thank you." Aether said, looking proud of himself before glancing at y/n, "You don't have to help us but your assistance would be appreciated."
Y/n pretended to look upset but her pouty facial expression gave way to a reluctant smile, "Ah.... fine. This guy's brother should be in amber somewhere on this mountain. I'm guessing... a little farther down."
Y/n happily headed down the mountain, Aether and Paimon close. She would occasionally pause by lumps of amber and listen before continuing to walk or breaking the amber herself.
It was mostly just hilichurls and slimes that y/n would scream and run away from, leaving Aether to fight them off.
Until...
"This one."
Aether, worn out from all the fighting, gave y/n a weary look with a, "...are you sure?"
Y/n, nodded, "Yep! And I'll do the fighting this time if I'm wrong!"
Aether sighed heavily before breaking the amber. It was a BOAR.
He didn't have a chance to react before the thing one-shot him, knocking his lights out as it ran past him.
(THOSE WRETCHED PIGS HAVE KILLED ME WHEN I WAS AT LOW HEALTH MORE TIMES THAN YOU THINK)
•••
"-ther!"
Pap.
"-ether!"
Pap! Pap!
"AETHER!"
Y/n slapped Aether again, this time a little harder and the blond jolted awake with a, "OW, WHAT THE HELL-"
"Oh, thank the archons above, you're alive!" y/n sobbed, "I thought I was gonna be stuck up here all by myself and I was gonna die cause nobody's here to protect me! And I was going to die alone! ALONE! I'd never get to ask Hu Tao or Zhongli to marry me and I'd die a single woman...!"
Aether deadpanned as the train wreck began rambling, glancing at the many empty plates of what he guessed had once had food.
"Hey! Paimon was here too!" Paimon snapped and y/n glared at her with teary eyes.
"Shut up! You can't even fight!" y/n said sharply, "How are you gonna protect me, huh!?"
"Let's just go, we still need to find that guy's brother..." Aether said quietly, beginning to get up but y/n rushed to his side to assist him.
"Don't worry! I found him a while ago and he went back up on his own! Now we just have to go see that adeptus. I think it was Mountain Shaper-" y/n continued.
"Ah, alright." Aether murmured then offered y/n a smile, "Thank you."
The woman's cheeks heated up before she looked away with a huff, "You're welcome..."
The trio made their way alllllll the way back up the mountain and indeed found the two brothers reunited.
"Have you ever seen the adeptus here?" Y/n asked when they got there, still helping Aether stand since his health hadn't fully returned yet.
"No... I mean, like everyone else, we've heard that there's an adeptus living in Mt. Hulao." one of the brothers replied, "But regular folks like us would never have the chance to meet them. No way."
"Anyway, we have trespassed in the realm of the adeptus for long enough. We should get going." one of the brothers chimed in.
"Thank you, mighty adepti messengers!" they exclaimed before quickly retreating.
"Ah... that turned out okay." y/n murmured then smiled at Aether and Paimon, "Haha, I was worried we'd be punished too...!"
Just as she said that a crane descended from the sky and landed on the other side of a small body of water which separated the trio from it..
"Foolish mortals, come forth and receive your punishment at once!" The bird boomed.
Y/n stared in shock for a moment before shrieking, "WE MADE IT MAD! WE'RE DEAD! I DON'T WANNA BE TURNED TO AMBER, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN MARRIED YET!!!"
"Calm down." Aether ordered, lightly bonking y/n on the head once before dragging her over to the adeptus.
"You intrude upon the sanctity of Mt. Hulao, you destroy the amber of my mountain, and you free a thief whose freedom is not yours to give." the adeptus said when they stopped in front of it, "The thieves' ignorance was an affront to the adepti... but your actions are an abomination of the highest order!"
"Here, look at this." Aether said simply, ignoring what the adeptus had just said as he presented his Sigil of Permission.
"...A Sigil of Permission? One was unaware that such things still exist in the mortal realm." Mountain Shaper hummed, "Speak. One shall listen to the matter which brings you here, then one shall verify the truth thereof. You would be wise to speak the truth, for Liyue is not so far from here that one would be easily deceived."
Aether calmly explained while y/n stared at the adeptus with wide eyes, visibly trembling as she remained behind Aether.
At some point, she'd grabbed onto his hand for comfort but he remained calm. On the outside at least.
'HZJSFSJSHSKDHS SHES HOLDING MY HANF WHAT THR HECK SJSHEJEHEJ'
Poor blond bby is pretty but he has only held his sister's hand, give him a break.
"What mortal in Liyue– nay, in all the world, would conspire to commit such foul treason? Or perhaps the more pertinent question is, what power in this world could aspire to achieve it?" Mountain Shaper questioned, "Rex Lapis charged the adepti with the protection of Liyue, and we have always honored this duty. As the people have prospered, so have we gradually withdrawn into the mountains. Indeed, this was a gesture of good will towards humanity."
'They're losing their faith in you, I wouldn't call that good...' y/n thought wearilt and flinched when Mountain Shaper looked on her direction, 'DID IT HEAR ME??? CAN IT READ MINDS???'
It was looking at Aether.
"Traveler, of the matter you have relayed, one has become aware. One now knows why Moon Carver has sent for us. Once one has dealt with certain matters here that require my attention, one shall convene with the other adepti." Mountain Shaper told the blond.
"Can someone explain the amber situation to me?" Aether inquired.
"Paimon can!" Paimon volunteered immediately, "Adepti always have magical powers in storybooks, seems it's true in real life too. You know, like how grass is actually adepti hair, and rivers are actually adepti saliva... There must be something similar going on with the amber."
"So then amber must be crystallized adepti..." Aether deadpanned, "Ew, gross."
"Actually, it's a type of plant." y/n explained, "Karst crawler I think. They are mostly hidden underground but when stepped on, they produce amber."
"So the amber is alive?" Aether asked y/n who shrugged with an awkward chuckle.
"I suppose so." she replied.
(Pretty boy)
(Baby boy)
(Smug boy)
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