The Winds Bring with them Change (Volume 1)

AN: This is just to tell you that this chapter isn't my best work, and for some reason I'm not entirely happy with it, so....

please judge lightly ig.

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The sun itself seemed to be against Xiao when he woke up the next morning to a beam directly in his eyes. Aether, morning person as he'd proved he most definitely was, had his chin resting on his folded arms, golden gaze directed at Xiao. Though the sun wasn't on his side, it was most definitely on his boyfriend's.

The ray fell half over his face, illuminating his hair and reminding Xiao of the first time he'd compared it to gold. That comparison still rung true, the strands shining in a way that seemed almost blinding accompanied by his bright smile. Xiao moved forward slowly, their relationship was much newer than his and Venti's after all, and he wanted nothing less than to scare him away.

His skin was soft and slightly too warm from sleep as Xiao swept his bangs out of his eyes as gently as he could manage. His eyes held the stars as his smile only grew. Aether was genuinely beautiful. The pressed kiss to his wrist didn't exactly change that assessment either. The blonde hummed a little, glancing up at his face for a moment.

" Is it okay if I," He was cut off by loud groaning from behind Xiao. Venti rolled over, pulling one of the blankets in his arms up to cover his face.

"Just kiss already." Aether flushed at his outburst, pulling himself up and to his knees, where he smacked the ex-Archon with his pillow. Xiao just blinked. It was much too bright and early for any of them to be play-fighting already.

But, even as he thought that, Kazuha was knocking on their door. He a particular way of knocking so that even when others were staying with them, at least Aether always knew who it was. One soft hit, then two quicker, harder ones. Venti groaned again, rolling off the mattress and onto the floor where he stayed as Aether got up finally. Xiao just flung an arm over his eyes, listening quietly as Kazuha explained in that soft tone of his that he needed to speak to him.

Cursing himself in just about every language he had ever learned to curse in, he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He'd done it now, there was no going back to sleep. Whilst usually he might have no difficulty waking up right now, today felt...different. Strange.

He followed Kazuha out to where he made him known of a letter that had arrived for him, right as Xiao's head nearly burst. Prayers were coming in excess, echoes of voices all searching for the same thing. One little lost man on the mountain of Dragonspine. With an, admittedly not that quick look at the letter, it was a commission for the same thing. Clearly the young man's family had moved on from trusting mortals to protect their loved ones.

He sighed, rubbing at his hip absentmindedly as he mulled over the request. On the one hand, there were likely many hardworking adventurers already searching for this man. But on the other, the mountain could be so very difficult to traverse, even for the likes of one as himself.

Venti and Aether traipsed down the stairs nary a moment later, the former rubbing his face sleepily as the latter finished braiding his long hair. Maybe a mission such as this would be good for him, give him a chance to clear his head, to think over anything they might have missed while searching for manuscripts on erosion. Plus, he had been getting complacent, he thought, as was so proved by his reluctance to leave the plush bed this very morning.

Yes a mission of this sort would do him good. With the way Venti was wincing away from the light streaming through the windows, he would probably not want to be leaving the teapot for at least the next 6 hours.