A/N: Okay so look, I just wanted to write a light-hearted comedy where Xiao makes a friend. I know the Verr Goldet is from Mondstadt BUT the Wangshu Inn has actual lore and myths about it, so I assume it's old. Verr lived in Mondstadt and moved back to take over the family inn and that's what I'm sticking with.
CW for mentions of Xiao's past, but nothing graphic or terrible.
#
Once upon a time, Xiao saves a mortal.
It's an accident. She isn't supposed to be there. Mortals hear the sound of his fighting and they know to steer far and clear because to be within eyesight is to risk death. Not that he intends harm but there is always collateral; Xiao fights hard and fast, and though precise, the strength of his wiles can level entire fields, along with the people found within them.
This woman has no regard for her life.
"Alisa Goldet," she says, holding out a hand for a shake. Xiao looks at it, unmoving, then flicks his spear to the side to shake off the blood from its tip. A casual maneuver that would strike fear into most. He pulls a rag from his trousers and rubs the rest of the blood from the blade of his lance. Rust is a bitch to grind off later so he prevents it now.
"You're one of the Yakshas," she continues, taking a step forward when he takes one back. She's got a friendly smile, mouth spread wide across her face as she brushes back her auburn bangs. Xiao is immediately reminded why he dislikes mortals so much: they're too loud, too affable, and too nosy. Especially when it comes to him.
Xiao wants to be left alone, to get in and out, and do his job in peace. A pesky damsel in distress already throws an iron spike into his plans.
"Leave me," he says, hurrying his pace when he finally pushes past her.
She matches him with surprising ease, a stubborn one. "Wait! Sir Yaksha- Oh, slow down, will you?"
Xiao doesn't and the urchin of a mortal follows him the entire way from Dihua Marsh to the center of Guili Plains, close to his heels despite his efforts to lose her.
He supposes that he can just wisp himself away but he's admittedly, tired.
"You saved my life," says Alisa when they stop in the plains. She's got a large travel pack on her back, fingers hooked through the straps as she regards him again. It's large enough that he's surprised the small, slight mortal doesn't tip right over.
"Don't take it personally," says Xiao.
"I'm not," she says, "but I'm thankful nonetheless. I'm new to this area you see, and I'm still trying to figure out my way around-"
"Are you done with your useless prattling?" he asks.
Alisa's mouth snaps shut and twists into an offended huff. "You know, I was going to reward you but now I'm reconsidering!"
Xiao's gaze narrows, beyond annoyed with this entire conversation. "I wasn't saving you."
"I know that, but-"
"No reward necessary."
The woman lets out an annoyed grunt and stamps her foot on the ground. "Are you always so rude?"
Xiao blinks once, twice, and then a third time caught entirely off guard. Mortals, while they rarely catch a glimpse of him, are well aware of what and who he is. He's never had an extended conversation with one, let alone been called rude.
What an impertinent child.
Xiao turns on his heel and moves to walk away, and as expected, the woman persists in following.
"I was talking to you!"
Xiao pauses, whirling around. "I don't talk to mortals," he says to her. "I do my job and I fight the evil that threatens the land, but that is the extent of my affairs with your kind."
"Your kind," she repeats in a huff. "If you've such distaste for us, then why bother?"
He's caught off guard again, never having been asked such a question. Most just accept him as what he is: a yaksha, guardian of the people, Bane of all Evil. They never question it. How infuriating, this woman.
"Ugh, whatever," says Alisa. "As I said, no reward for you. Good day, fearful Yaksha." She sounds disdainful and frankly, sarcastic. Xiao chooses the higher ground and refuses to give in to her needling.
He turns on his heel and in a flash, he's gone.
#
Once upon a time, Xiao saves a mortal not once, but twice.
He's convinced that it's divine punishment set forth by Morax because the old God of Geo has finally gone senile. It's been a long time coming.
"Have you no regard for your pitiful, mortal life?" asks Xiao the moment he spies Alisa sprawled across the ground. She sticks out her hand and against his better judgment, he helps her up. Once righted, she brushes off her skirt, seemingly uninjured.
Once is a coincidence, twice is luck. Alisa Goldet is the luckiest woman alive to witness his work several times and live to speak of it.
"Seems as though I owe you my life once again."
"It isn't personal," says Xiao in a rehearsed answer.
"Of course not," she says, entirely unruffled.
Xiao shakes out his spear, knocking loose blood before wiping it down and disappearing it in a wink. "One wonders, what is it about this plain that finds you a frequent visitor?"
Alisa's eyes widen. "What is that? Are you making conversation?" She doesn't bother to hide the sarcasm in her quip. Clearly, he'd left an impression the last time.
"Do not mistake conversation for genuine curiosity. I'm not above a personable exchange."
Alisa snorts at that, trying not to laugh.
Xiao frowns. "Is there something funny?"
"No," she says. "Well, yes. Look, I'll reward you properly this go-around. I still owe you for the last and to be fair, you tried this time."
"Tried what?"
"To be friendly."
Xiao cringes. "I'm not-"
"Yeah, yeah," she says, waving his words away. She pulls off her insufferably large pack, drops it to the ground, and starts rummaging through it. Finally, she pulls out a parcel wrapped up in oilcloth and holds it out to him.
Xiao stares at it. "I don't require mortal food," he says.
"Who said anything about requiring? Just enjoy it, yeah? It's pretty tasty! My own recipe and everything." Alisa moves to shove the parcel into his hands and Xiao grabs it, unwilling to just let it drop to the ground, standing there dumbly as he thinks.
"You… never answered my question," he finally says.
Alisa closes her pack, shoulders it, and then turns to look at the plain that lays before them. "I bought some land," she says. "This patch, right here in Qiongji Estuary, at the bottom tip of the marshes. The ground isn't as stable as I'd like, but that's probably why the land was cheap. Still trying to convince my husband that it was a good buy." She pauses and Xiao wonders why her husband lets her adventure around alone.
And then he remembers that he doesn't care about mortals beyond his divine duty as the Vigilant Yaksha.
"I'm thinking that tree, right there," she finishes, pointing to a large banyan that tops an outcropping of rock.
"For what, exactly," asks Xiao, minutely curious.
"An inn, of course!"
What a peculiar choice but fitting for such a peculiar woman. Xiao looks at the parcel one last time, feeling the weight of her gratitude in the palm of his hand. It's strange, how tangible it is.
"Thank you," says Xiao, tongue thick in his mouth, unused to such platitudes. But the girl preens at the praise, rocking back and forth on her heels.
Later that night after he's taken his leave, Xiao sits at the table on Mt. Aozang alone. It's how he prefers things to be, quiet like the night breeze, his solitude sufferable. Then he remembers. He pulls out the parcel that Alisa Goldet gifted him earlier, nose catching the subtle sweet scent of whatever it holds.
He pulls apart the knot that ties it closed, the flaps of the cloth falling open like butterfly wings. It's strange, this food she's gifted him. Square and gelatinous, the color of the moon on a clear night. Soft when he cuts into it with the adjoined chopsticks.
The taste is subtle and saccharine, slightly nutty. Strangely soft but still with a little bite. The texture draws up memories that aren't quite fond but welcome nonetheless. His past often haunts him, the dream-devouring most of all, but even in light of these horrors, Xiao finds that he misses it, the feel and weight of a nightmare upon his tongue.
Whatever this concoction is, it's quite similar, irresistible in its draw.
Xiao finishes the entire dish without a second thought, lost in the memories of what he once was.
#
Once upon a time, Xiao meets the same mortal thrice.
It's a first for him but there seem to have been quite a few of those lately. Alisa Goldet is already rising on her feet and brushing her trousers off before she levels him with a wide grin.
"Saved my neck again," she says. He shouldn't have. She wasn't in danger caused by anything other than her own willful stupidity. She'd nearly fallen out of the tall banyan and straight to her death.
"Perhaps you shouldn't climb so high into trees if you lack the balance."
"I have some surveying to do if this is where the inn is to go."
"Still on about that?"
It's strange, this ease of conversation. Xiao has never been a talker but the words come easily with Alisa at the other end. Morax often spoke of such camaraderie with another, something so seemingly different than what Xiao shares with his fellow Yakshas. This isn't abject fear and respect for another's power, this is something warm and kind. Agreeable.
Friendship.
He can almost taste it on his tongue.
"So, how was it?" asks Alisa. Xiao must give her a confused look because she reaches over and nudges him with an elbow. "My little gift? Did you eat it?"
"It was…"
"Delicious, right?"
Xiao wants to say tolerable because he isn't one to offer his opinions to mortals. But something about that feels wrong. It's like a pinprick at the bottom of his spine: Alisa Goldet deserves the truth because Xiao's fool enough to spend time with her willingly.
"Exquisite," says Xiao. "Quite like the smooth and tender texture of a well-formed nightmare."
Alisa's mouth snaps shut, unsure how to respond at first. It's so easy to forget that mortals don't think the same way that he does or have experienced the same grueling horrors.
"My apologies-"
"You have no idea how to talk to people, do you?" she asks with a chuckle.
Xiao rubs at his head, uncharacteristically sheepish. "Admittedly, I haven't had much practice."
Alisa hums at that before dropping to sit on a large tree root. She pats the spot next to her, motioning for Xiao to follow. "No time like the present," she says. "Let's share more almond tofu."
"Almond tofu," repeats Xiao quietly, sitting beside her, mouth curling around the unfamiliar words. It's nice, like a summer breeze on a warm day in Jueyun Karst. Only, he's sharing it with a mortal. Just south of Dihua Marsh. Stranger things have happened, he supposes.
"So, what do you mean by 'a well-formed nightmare'?" asks Alisa, pulling open her large pack.
Xiao is not accustomed to talking about himself. Morax knows all there is to know, so there's nothing to speak of. The Yakshas, while close enough to finish each other's sentences, don't speak about the things of the past, an unspoken rule born from mutual understanding. Their lives are in the present now. There's so little use dwelling in what was.
Xiao has never been good at that.
"I wasn't always a Yaksha," he says rather bluntly.
Alisa laughs, dropping a parcel into his hand. It's a soft, comfortable thing he's surprised to find. "I didn't think that was the case."
"I am not a good being," says Xiao so softly that his words are almost lost in the warm spring afternoon.
"You're wrong," she says. "You've saved me three times and once had nothing to do with you."
Xiao wants to tell her, thinking that he might find comfort in sharing a part of himself so carefully locked away. "It isn't a happy story," he finally says. "It's cruel and tormenting, and I did many terrible things."
"That's what the almond tofu is for. Something to look forward to."
Xiao smiles a soft, curling thing that feels foreign on his face. But not unwanted. So he tells her of his flaws, the bad parts of himself that he's kept so neatly folded and shelved. Alisa listens not with fear or judgment, but intent, nodding as she tries to form a picture.
They eat the almond tofu and it tastes like friendship.
#
Once upon a time centuries ago, Xiao had a mortal friend who predictably passed.
He retreated into himself again, preferring his lonely solitude. He fought off evil and paid his karmic debt. Over time, his fellow Yakshas fell as well, succumbing to their brutal end as expected by their job.
Eventually, Xiao is the only one left.
He thinks of Alisa Goldet, even if he doesn't want to, remembering her kind laugh and her well-made almond tofu. It wasn't perfect, but it was exactly what he needed. And when he met her husband, he'd become a friend too.
Xiao travels the land, avoiding the Wangshu Inn because it's plagued with memories, fleeting little things that tug curiously at his heart.
But eventually, he revisits.
It's much the same, only that the wood splinters here and there, and some walls need repaving, wear and tear expected as time passes. It still feels like hers though, like Alisa's. It's well-loved and well-lived and Xiao expects her to turn a corner as though it were yesterday.
The memories within these walls don't hurt nearly as much as expected, he thinks, his hand pressed against the cold plaster that's spiderwebbed with age.
"As much as our walls are nice, the real treat is in the kitchen, you know."
Xiao meets the gaze of a young woman with burnished auburn hair and a mouth twisted into an amused grin. So similar to Alisa but different, like he's seeing double but her edges are blurred.
"Verr Goldet," she greets, "Proud boss of the Wangshu Inn." She doesn't hold her hand out to him, instead, keeping it clasped properly in front of her skirt. "I hear that you don't shake hands."
"One wonders where you heard such a thing," asks Xiao.
"One hears rumors over the years in a place like this. I'm well aware of who you are, the last Yaksha, Conqueror of Demons."
Xiao misses the older, simpler times where he was less known and more feared. Still, he doesn't dislike her spunk. Maybe he's softened with age. "It's been a long while since I've been here," he says. "Centuries. I'll take my leave. I meant no bother."
Xiao turns on his heel, about to wisp away when Verr's voice stops him. "I know of another story, this one from my childhood. It's passed down through my family, about a lonely old man who was a friend of our own. He liked almond tofu."
Xiao can't help the small quirk to his lips and the warmth that spreads through his chest. A lonely old man, he thinks. No doubt Alisa's loving and very apt descriptor.
"Ours is quite good, the best around. Stay for a bite?"
Xiao does, settling into the kitchen and sharing a plate with the current inn owner. They share soft words and quiet little quips, and for a small moment, it's like he's been thrust back in time, a feeling that he wasn't aware he missed so much.
He strikes her a deal and never leaves, making the top floor of the inn his home. Surrounded by fond memories and the pitter-patter of guests. He likes the sense of belonging that pulls at his very being.
He also likes the almond tofu, sweet and soft despite its similarity to the nightmares of old. A particular taste indeed.