MISUNDERSTANDINGS ARE HARD TO WRITE
Aether had received an invitation, and he was trying his best to figure out how to respond without his sister noticing that something was up. She was ruthless whenever she noticed that he had gotten something from Barbatos. Always budging in on his business. She told him it was obvious he was in love, and that she was pretty sure it was two sided. But Aether wanted to make sure for himself that Barbatos wasnt interested in just being friends. He hoped to talk to Barbatos about it today. From what Aether could tell, Barbatos wanted to introduce him to his friends. Aether had noticed that Lumine's name was not on the invitation, and it made him wonder if maybe Barbatos wanted to spend some time with just him(A fact that made his heart flutter a little bit).
So back to the original problem, question, conundrum. How to tell Lumine he'd be gone for a while, but keep her from prying into his plans? She was awfully nosy; a perfect little sister, but it could be rather annoying. And Lumine seemed to think she needed to be there for anything he was doing. Aether was pretty sure it was so that she could find good inspiration with which to tease him. She teased him a lot. Way too much in his opinion. But oh well, she was his sister. It happened.
;
Finding a way to respond to Barbatos… might be a problem. He had mentioned dandelion messages once, but the only plants here were the ones they cultivated for food. Lumine wouldn't want to let him grow weeds anyway. Even if they were considered flowers here. Old habits die hard. He could just show up, but that would be rude. And there would still be the problem of Lumine following him.
;
Aether eventually just talked to Lumine and bribed(and bullied a little) her to stay away for a day. He had carefully made sure there were no loopholes in which she could squeeze through, she was amazingly good at that. Then he had sent Paimon to Barbatos with a note informing him of when Aether would arrive. She had complained at first, but when she remembered that Mondstadt gave her free food she was willing to go. MORE than willing. So willing, in fact, that he could barely keep her long enough to tell her that he would pick her up after the sun set. Paimon had then shot off in the direction of Mondstadt with speed only the twins could beat.
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Aether was flying over the Mare Jivari, and it looked like it would be a beautiful night. There were not many clouds above the dunes, and there was a nice breeze blowing down from the north. The light wind was speeding him along his journey. Easy flights under the sun like this were what he lived for. The temporary absence of responsibility, the future chasing him, made him feel as if there wasn't a care in the world.
;
Barbatos was hoping Aether would arrive soon. He was getting quite bored here. He had gone to the tavern to wait until the decided time. The trip would take only a few moments, but he wanted to arrive early. It would be awful if he was late. Barbatos knew Aether would understand but… he should make sure he was on time.
When he arrived, he noticed that it was a very nice day. He had been inside all morning. The wind played with his hair as he settled down to wait, playing a song for the nearby animals. It was a beautiful day, and he now regretted not being outside earlier. As he sang, crystalflies gathered around him. He had noticed them often when he was with or thinking about Aether. He was unsure why they gathered, but even their luminescent beauty was nothing compared to Aether's. Aether was the most beautiful thing Barbatos had ever seen.
With his golden hair cascading down his back in shining waves, his wings like feathers in the wind. His caring nature, willing to help with anything asked of him. And like Barbatos, he loved freedom. Even more so than him. Aether could leave with a moment's notice, he wasn't even tied to one world. Barbatos loved listening to his stories, and he could tell that Aether loved traveling more than anything. The fact that Aether could spread his wings and leave Teyvat without even a moment's preparation was terrifying, and yet… he felt like maybe he was helping keep Aether here just a little longer. However long the fallen star stayed, he would be ever grateful for the time he had been able to spend with him.
;
It was about an hour later when Aether arrived. He landed carefully in front of him and grinned.
"I'm here! What did you have planned? I uh, hope you didn't want Lumine to come too… I left her at home."
Barbatos was glad Aether had gotten the right info from the message. He had wanted to spend a day with just Aether. Lumine was wonderful, yes, but she could also be very annoying. And Aether was different without Lumine around. Aether had at first seemed quite shy and composed, but the first time Barbatos had managed to get him away from Lumine he had seemed to become a whole new person.
Barbatos had been amazed how many things the two twins had done. Lumine had never told any stories, and he had never thought to ask Aether. But once they were alone, Aether had said something Barbatos didn't understand. When asked, Aether had told him a story about a world where people fought with swords of light and controlled objects with their minds. The explanation had just given him more questions.
"Well, as wonderful and amazing as I am… I thought you might like to meet some of my friends, Aether! It's a short flight to where they live, but that's no problem for us. What do you say? I think you'll like them."
Aether agreed to meet these unnamed friends of Barbatos'. The letter had mentioned them, and he was interested in what type of friends a god had in this world. In other worlds such friends had been other immortals, or similar traveling beings such as him.
;
True to Barbatos' word, the flight to where his friends lived was quick. It was in some woods that Aether had forgotten the name of. They were shady, and had an air of mystery about them. It seemed a perfect place to live in quiet, blissful, solitude. Something Aether would never do. He would never live on any world without Lumine. It was simply not an option he would ever consider.
They arrived at an arena. And in it was a huge greatsword stabbed into the ground. Barbatos grinned and flew towards it.
"HEEEEEEY ANDRIUS I KNOW YOU'RE HOME! Come meet my friend!" He landed, and his wings disappeared into his back. Aether set down beside him, and was about to ask where his friend was when blue mist suddenly appeared all around him. He tensed and drew his sword. Barbatos looked resigned to his fate. What fate that was however, Aether did not know.
The mist swirled around them, and Aether saw a beast appear in front of him. His wings lifted him off the ground as he prepared to fight this monster. Barbatos sighed and lifted himself out of the arena with a faint "Meet my friend, he's really quite nice once you get to know him", and a hesitant smile on his face.
The beast, Andrius, had come dangerously near.
"Prove yourself, oh child of the stars. Show that you are worthy of the trust you have been given. You must be able to protect yourself if you are to protect this world." The wolf swiped one of his great paws at Aether, and he was forced to fly higher in order to dodge. A powerful gust of wind suddenly sent him tumbling from the air, and he crashed into the ground. Aether realized this wolf wasn't playing around, it was truly trying to kill him. He and Lumine had trusted Barbatos, but it seemed they had been wrong to.
He sprinted away from the wolf as it leaped toward him, trying to get to the edge of the arena. If he could climb the edge of the arena he could fly home. He could easily subdue this spirit, but… old spirits like this could be good for a developing world.
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Barbatos watched as Aether ran towards the far end of the arena. Was introducing him to Andrius first a bad idea? Aether looked a bit angry down there… Maybe Andrius was trying a bit too hard? The old wolf sure did like fighting. He challenged everyone that came into his territory. It was probably not a great way to meet someone now that he thought about it. And Aether especially… Barbatos had noticed that the man had some trust problems. Knowing just how old Aether was, though, he was probably used to being betrayed and shunned.
So yeah, he might need to apologize to Aether. Soon, before he and his sister hightailed it out of Teyvat. He didn't want to lose him too. Barbatos could introduce him later. For now, he should save the poor guy from his friend. Before he lost the star's trust for good.
"Andrius! You're pushing a little hard, you know! Why don't the two of you let it up for today? We can come back later and he can prove himself. Maybe…"
Barbatos hoped Aether would understand that he had brought him here in good will. He realized now that he should have warned Aether beforehand. Barbatos should have told Aether that the old wolf liked fighting. This was all his fault. If he lost Aether because of this… he had no excuse, no one else to blame.
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Aether wasn't doing so great. His wings hurt, they would probably be too sore to fly tomorrow. He could hear Barbatos calling out, no doubt leading the wolf spirit on, but he could not make out exact words from around the ringing in his ears. He was getting trounced, refraining from hurting this spirit was going to get him killed. But his goal remained the same: to help Teyvat until it's deities could take care of it themselves. Killing one of the oldest beings currently on Teyvat would not be smart.
And suddenly, the barrage of wind and ice stopped. He took the chance and rocketed into the sky. He flew as far east as his wings would take him before collapsing onto the ground. That fight had taken too much out of him. He had become lazy. He should have been able to subdue the wolf in seconds, not fly for his life the second he got a chance. He would have to build up his strength again, this world would require it.
He saw Barbatos flying towards him, and sat up. He would fight without holding back if he must. Barbatos was still young enough for it not to matter as much as if he had killed the wolf. So he stood, and drew his sword. His wings would be useless here, and that put him at a disadvantage. But here he wouldn't hold back.
;
Aether was on the ground. Barbatos had watched him fly off and had followed. He was worried, Andrius had been throwing Aether around the arena. That couldn't be good for him. Though he had expected Aether to do a little better, he was older than Teyvat itself.
He hadn't made it far before he landed. Was he hurt? Had Barbatos missed something? There had been ice flying around everywhere, it was possible he hadn't noticed Aether get hit. Or did he maybe want to give Barbatos a chance to explain? Aether had always been the patient twin. The one willing to listen.
But when he got closer, he saw that the star had his sword out. This might not go as well as he had hoped...
"Aether! I promise that wasn't what you thought!" Barbatos stayed out of Aether's range, getting hit was not on his bucket list at the moment. "Andrius never meant to truly hurt you. He just doesn't know how far to go. Please, forgive me. I should have warned you first." He didn't know what else to say, he had never been good at this kind of thing. He must have said something right though, because Aether's expression seemed to relax. Barbatos explained more about Andrius and his somewhat… ferocious attitude. As he explained, Aether relaxed more and more.
Barbatos was relieved. He had started this conversation with a very real fear of being stabbed. Now, Aether was leaning with his back against a tree listening to him talk. All in all, the best outcome he could have ever expected.
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Aether's wings hurt. Badly. He wanted to listen to Barbatos, he really did, but the pain was distracting him. It was alright however, he had heard enough to feel safe once more. It had been a misunderstanding, and he was relieved that that was all it had been. Anything worse, and he would have been a goner.
As it was, he needed to get home quickly. The twins had been in enough dangerous situations that both had long since mastered the skill of healing. Ha, mastered. They could heal anything. Death was a harder situation, but certainly possible! So yeah, he would be fine. If he could get to Lumi… He needed an excuse to leave. He could say he had to pick up Paimon, he had never actually told Barbatos when he would be leaving. Aether had told Paimon though… he might need to bribe her with even more food. Oh well, Sternenlicht had plenty. They had long since learned to plan for her crazy appetite, which actually got even larger in winter months. He hoped Barbatos fell for his lie, or at least just didn't question his need to leave. At this point he wasn't even remotely sure he could make it all the way across the Mare Jivari.
Luck was not on Aether's side.
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Barbatos immediately saw through the lie. It worried him, Aether had never lied to him before. He let it go for a bit though. He knew Aether had secrets, and in the course of forever, they hadn't known each other for even a moment. But he still worried. Aether was an honest person. So far as he knew…
So he watched as Aether got up. Which meant he saw the wince when he lifted his wings, the deep breath before he lifted off. And he worried.
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