Genshin Impact: Holiday Tales
Day 01: Happy Holidays to One And All
~ Gates of Mondstadt ~
A few days had passed since then and, on the first day of the Winter Festival, Aether and Paimon had been out gathering as many of their friends as possible from Liyue and Inazuma. They even had an audience with the Shogun herself, Lady Ei. It is now a short while into the early afternoon as the guards out front saw a group, led by Aether, approaching across the stoned bridge. As soon as they recognized him, both knights turned to the other and nodded.
"All right. I'll go get Grand Master Jean. Be right back." one said before taking off. The other was left to greet Aether and his friends back to the city. Looking at the group behind Aether, he could make out the likes of Yanfei, Xiangling, Xingqiu, Chongyun, Zhongli, Ganyu, Xinyan, Kazama, Thoma, Ayaka, Kokomi, Yoimiya, Kujou Sara and the Raiden Shogun. Seated on Thoma's shoulders, as to not be overlooked, was Sayu sleeping soundly with a few snores.
"Is this everybody, Honorary Knight? Heh. I never knew how popular you were outside of Mondstadt." he said. Aether glanced back at the others as Paimon approached.
"Did Razor come at all?" she asked.
"Oh. You mean the boy from Wolvendom? Sadly, not yet. We sent a few of our men to the woods but no luck finding him I'm afraid. It's weird. He should stick out like a sore thumb against the snow." the knight explained. Paimon sighed disappointingly while Aether shrugged.
"Guess it can't be help. Razor is one for living in the wild, right?" he said. He then walked up to Paimon's side and patted her head lightly.
"Don't worry, Paimon. Maybe we'll have better luck. Razor probably doesn't know the knights as well as us." he said. Ganyu then approached Aether and tapped his shoulder.
"Excuse me. But…who is Razor?" she asked.
"Oh. I shoulda guess you wouldn't know. He's a friend of ours, a warrior raised by wolves, who usually lives with his packmates in the woods not too far from here." Paimon said, directing her attention across the small lake surrounding them. Sara put her hand to her chest.
"If it would help, I would like to offer my services in helping locate him." she said. Ei glanced her way and smiled.
"All right. We'll make sure to remember that. But don't be surprised if the Grand Master would rather have you enjoy yourselves instead. You ARE our guests after all." the knight said. Just then, they could hear the sounds of footsteps approaching from within the city. It was Grand Master Jean, accompanied by her sister, Deaconess Barbara, Diluc and Kaeya. Seeing her approach caused Ei to step forward as well, Sara at her side. The two exchanged a brief handshake, smiles on both their faces. Ei then stepped aside as Jean addressed the others.
"Welcome, guests of Liyue and Inazuma. I thank you greatly for visiting Mondstadt during our Barbatos Winter Festival. While I understand it must've been a long travel for you, some more than others, we still hope you will take the time to rest and enjoy the festivities to your leisure. If you need us, do not hesitate to ask the Knights of Favonius for assistance. You are all good acquaintances of our Honorary Knight…and as our previous Grand Master Varkah once said "Any friend of mine is a friend of mine as well"." she said. She then took the time to bow, Kaeya included, while Barbara did a light courtsey instead.
"Thank you for having us." the others replied. And with that, Aether and Paimon stepped aside to allow their friends inside. As they passed, Jean approached Aether.
"Excuse me, Honorary Knight. But I cannot seem to locate Ningguang among the visitors you brought. Is she not coming?" she asked. Paimon waved her hands.
"Oh no no. Don't worry, Jean. She said she just had a few "matters" to attend to in Liyue. But she promised she would come before the festival ended. Guess it just goes to show how much the folks of Liyue need her." Paimon said.
"That seems…rather funny considering we managed to bring Inazuma's "Almighty Shogun" out here with no trouble….not to mention the leading lady of the Kamisato Clan." Aether added. Paimon paused for a moment.
"Well…gues they weren't as busy as the Qixing must've been. We couldn't get Keqing to come either." she continued, merely shrugging. Jean nodded.
"All right. It cannot be helped if she is needed. I still wish for her to visit before the festival ends." she said "Anyway, Diluc, Kaeya and I need to do a sweep of the town. Just to make sure everyone participating do not have any issues." With a bow, Jean and the boys took their leave as Barbara approached.
"Something tells me this year's Mondstadt Winter Festival is going to be one to remember….and twice as fun too." she chuckled. Aether and Paimon nodded before, to their surprise, they all noticed Zhongli standing behind them with his eyes looking up towards the gates.
"Something the matter, Zhongli?" Aether asked, gaining his attention.
"N-No. I'm sorry. Just…reminiscing about the last time I came to visit Mondstadt. I've spent so much of my life in Liyue that I couldn't help myself." he said.
"Wow. Guess work doesn't take you far from Liyue, does it?" Paimon asked. Zhongli lightly chuckled before they each heard the sounds of new footsteps crunching in the snow. They glanced to see Childe, wearing a different outfit than his Harbinger attire, joined by his younger sibling, Teucer.
"Hello there, comrade. Hope you don't mind us dropping by." he said with a salute.
"H-Huh? Childe?!" Paimon asked with a shock expression.
"Is he…another friend of yours, Honorary Knight?" Barbara asked. Aether glanced to her before turning back, spotting Teucer as well.
"You could…say that. We met in Liyue but he's from WAY farther out." he said, trying to mask Childe's ties to the Fatui.
"Oh. A-All right." Barbara said before approaching him. She extended out her hand towards the pair.
"Either way, welcome to Mondstadt, Childe. If you are here for the Winter Festival, you couldn't have come at a more perfect moment." she said. Childe grinned and accepted her handshake.
"Why thank you very much, miss. Oh. Also, this is my younger brother, Teucer. Sadly, he's the only of my siblings I was able to have come with me." he said, bending down to his side. Barbara smiled and did likewise, offering a hand to Teucer.
"It's really nice to be here too. When my brother told me about your festival, it sounded like so much fun!" he proclaimed as Childe laughed.
"So much so that you were practically BEGGING me to bring you here. BUT…I hope you remember our agreement." he said. Teucer nodded, saying he would not get into any trouble while with Childe. The siblings both smiled before Barbara helped lead Teucer ahead. Aether and Zhongli stayed behind, their eyes locked on him.
"Listen…I'm not here on ANY orders from the Fatui OR the other Harbingers. I just….couldn't help but find out about the party you're all having and felt like my siblings would enjoy it. I'm strictly here of my own free accord and WILL NOT cause any trouble." he said, solomnly saluting. The others glanced at one another before lightly nodding.
"Then we will hold you to your words, Tartaglia. However, should you seek to cause any harm to this city…" Zhongli said, crossing his arms. But Childe interrupted, extending his hand.
"It's okay. I fully understand. No way would a lone Harbinger like myself stand a chance against the ENTIRETY of folks assembled here. I only wish for you to allow the two of us to partake in the festivities as guests." Childe said "While I was not able to have Tonia or Anthon with me…I wanted to make sure Teucer wasn't left out. There's not much to do, much less a festival like this, in Schezniya." Aether and Paimon turned to each other.
"All right. If it's for your sibling, we've had our fair share of time with him also. We don't mind." Paimon said, Aether nodding.
"T-Thank you both so much. Anyway, what are we standing around out here for? To turn into snowmen? Let's hurry on in." he said, following them inside "I'm already chilly as is." Paimon scoffed.
"FUNNY. This coming from a guy who lives in a place like Schezniya." she said, making Childe burst out laughing.
"You got me!" he replied. Suddenly, Teucer could be seen running up to them and quickly grabbed onto Childe and Aether, holding one hand on each of them.
"C'mon slowpokes! You've GOTTA see this! It's so amazing!" he proclaimed.
"Okay champ. We're comin'!" Paimon shouted as the boys hurried on ahead. Waiting for them near the center of town was their friends gathered together, exchanging words with each other or the Mondstadt people. Klee could be seen playing patty cake with Yoimiya as Amber was introducing Xiangling and Thoma to Sara, the owner of Good Hunter, and Xingqiu talking novels with Kokomi and Ayaka. The sight couldn't help but bring a smile to Aether's.
TO BE CONTINUED…