The traveler and the yaksha | Xiao x Aether

The Alcor arrived at the island and weighed anchor at the docks, everyone on the deck made their way to the village. Aether woke Xiao up to let him know that the ship was docked and that they were at the island. Xiao's seasickness vanished once the ship stopped swaying about.

They stepped off the ship and met up with the villagers. They talked with them about the girl who matched Aether's twin. The villagers gave them a map of the island and gave as many details as possible. The villagers were shocked at first when they first saw Aether. They mention that the girl looked just like him.

After they finished speaking with the villagers, everyone helped unload supplies from the Alcor. They were also there to help the village out after a storm ravaged the area leaving them short on goods. Other ships were booked to the brim on shipments and the Alcor was the only ship available to help and just so happens someone spotted a girl on the island that wore strange garments. Zhongli got word of the news and thought be best to alert everyone of the information, he made a promise to help Aether find his sister as much as possible, but he didn't want to take any chances, so he asked the others to come along for help, he even asked Ganyu to come for extra strength.

*Later that night*

Everyone spent the day helping the village out. Xiao, Aether, and Bennett went out and searched for a bit once they were done with their duties, but they didn't find much. They marked on the map the areas they searched and went back to the village to get some rest.

An old couple who had a huge house allowed everyone to stay the night there instead of sleeping on the ship. They had plenty of spare rooms and wanted to thank them for all their help. Beidou, Barbara, Amber, Paimon, and Ganyu slept in one room, and Zhongli, Bennett, Aether, and Xiao slept in the other one, the rest of the rooms were filled with the ship's crew so the house was packed.

Xiao couldn't sleep, he just lay in bed tossing and turning. He sat up in bed and looked around the room. Aether, Zhongli, and Bennett were sound asleep, Xiao got out of bed and slowly made his way to the door. He accidentally stepped on a floorboard that made a creaking sound and he cursed internally, he looked around and saw that the others were still sleeping. He reached the door and exited the room. Aether stirred and saw Xiao leaving, he got up and went after Xiao.

Xiao wandered along the beach for a while. He listened to the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach, the smell of the sea filled the air and the sky was crystal clear, Xiao could see thousands if not millions of stars sparkle for miles high above in the dark sky. Being out here away from the city lights made the stars shine brighter. He walked past the Alcor where it was docked, the ship made creaking noises as it gently floated on the water. The moonlight lit up the area making it easy to see without needing a light source.

Xiao came to a stop and looked out over the ocean. That's when he was startled by Aether, he didn't even realize he was being followed until Aether spoke.

"Can't sleep again?" Aether asked, he stood behind Xiao as he asked this. Aether knew Xiao was having trouble sleeping sometimes, it made him worry.

"Sorry...Did I wake you up?" Xiao said back as he looked over his shoulder at Aether.

"No I couldn't sleep, I saw you leaving so I thought I'd make sure you were ok. You shouldn't go off on your own, it's dangerous." Aether replied, he stepped closer to Xiao.

"I'm not as weak as you think I am, I can hold my own in a fight. It's you that I worry about." Xiao hissed back, he crossed his arms which meant he was not happy with Aether at the moment.

"Doesn't mean I can't worry about you. I know you're strong. I don't doubt that, I just don't want anything to happen. We don't know what's on this island after all." Aether spoke as he placed his hand on Xiao's shoulder.