LET'S START WITH VENTI POV THIS TIME

I wrote something. And you know what? IT DIDN'T SYNC TO MY COMPUTER

It didn't surprise Barbatos when Aether only flew a little ways before landing again. But it did worry him. He had never seen Aether so tired he couldn't fly. He had heard stories from Lumine about Aether working himself too hard, but this was a different story. Was he hurt? Or just so exhausted that he had collapsed?

He propelled himself forward to Aether, and landed next to him. Aether had landed and fallen to his knees. Barbatos leaned down to look Aether in the eyes, and what he saw was not encouraging. Aether's eyes were clouded with pain. He doubted Aether even recognized him at this point. Which was… not encouraging, to say the least. A powerful god like Aether, (was he a god?) if he panicked and attacked, could spell ruin for this corner of Mondstadt. But that wasn't his main worry. Aether was obviously in a LOT of pain, and yet Barbatos couldn't tell what was injured.

If Aether bled out because Barbatos wasn't perceptive enough to find the wound, Lumine would kill him. And then she would find him in his next life and kill him again. Lumine was like that. And the fact that she wouldn't have been there for it… They were twins, and she had been there for him for the dawnings and terminations of worlds. Lumine WOULD be there when Aether died. Which meant Barbatos had better get a move on and figure out where the wound was.

Unfortunaaatlyyyy… he wasn't good at anything medical. Only with enough luck to cover the entire world with syrup, would he ever be able to find what was wrong with Aether. His thoughts raced, should he try to help Aether on his own? Take him to Mondstadt for professional healing? Barbatos could get rid of his wings, but he had never seen Aether without them. And even if Aether could get rid of them, he was barely awake right now. How would the people of Monstadt react to someone with wings? With Barbatos, they had been overjoyed, but that was a bit of an extenuating circumstance.

Ah well. He would deal with the repercussions as they came. Planning had never really been a skill of his, why start now?

Barbatos gathered Aether into his arms and lifted off the ground. He flew in the direction of Mondstadt at higher speeds than he was used to. But, speed was of the essence here.

;

The gates to Mondstadt were always open. Something many a weary traveler appreciated. Normally, Barbatos would not use said gates. When actually required to enter his city via a doorway, he found that it took a significantly longer amount of time than just flying over the walls.

He did not like it. He DID like that the first thing the guards did when they saw Aether was call for a healer. The people of Mondstadt were still used to finding people broken and in pain. The Archon war was not yet a distant memory. Just a short few decades after the Archon War, many soldiers had started families and settled down. If he was being hopeful, he would say he wanted to do the same with Aether. But Aether wouldn't want to settle down. He couldn't stay in one place. Lumine had told Barbatos that this was the longest the twins had stayed in one place since leaving home.

;

Aether woke up in a relatively uncomfortable bed. Which, to be honest, surprised him. Lumine never allowed him to pamper himself when he was hurt. The fact that he didn't feel like he was about to die was a pleasant feeling, especially after being hurt like he had been. Speaking of, he didn't feel any pain. Wherever he was, they had an advanced enough knowledge of medicine that it would work on him. Which was a relief, until he remembered why he had been hurt in the first place. Barbatos must have taken him here, wherever he was, after he had passed out (he must have passed out, otherwise there would be memories where there was only darkness).

Darkness… of course he would remember it now, on this world full of light and happiness. He never recalled it when he needed it most, the knowledge it gave him. He only remembered it, felt it, when he didn't need it. And like now, when he couldn't run away from his problems.

He closed his eyes and focused on the coal inside him, willing the flames to burn the darkness away. It was something he hadn't had to do in centuries, and feeling the coal ignite once again… the warmth was like nothing else.

Aether did not move for a long while, but though he was laying down and his eyes were closed, he was awake.

;

When Barbatos went to check on Aether, he did not expect anything to have changed. Which meant, he did not expect Aether to be glowing. Well, he thought that's what was happening. Anything about Aether was unknown, but it DID look like he was glowing. When Aether opened an eye and looked at him, Barbatos decided the glow was a good thing. If it wasn't, Aether would have started trying to fix it by now. That was just how the guy worked.

As he approached the bedside, he slowed down, not knowing whether or not he was welcome. It had been a crazy day, and Barbatos was in a very 'better safe than sorry' mood. While he didn't expect Aether to attack him, not in the state he was in, he was still wary of what the man would do if provoked.

"Aether. Hey, uh… you alright? You gave the doctors quite the scare. And ummmm… you're glowing. Just… wanted to let you know in case you didn't notice and it's a bad thing. You never know, right? Not with… well, what are you?"

Aether seemed amused. That was a good thing. Amusement didn't lead to anger. Normally.

"I'm fine. The glow is fine. It's something that happens naturally when- actually I tell you later. (I will, I promise. :D) But yeah, glowing is normal for us. As for what I am, on my home world we are called the Tarakona. But here, my sister and I are aliens. Foreign life-forms hailing from another planet, another world entirely. But you knew that. Here, our powers are equal to that of an Archon. Perhaps more powerful, even."

Aliens. A term Barbatos had never heard before, though it did not seem an inherently kind word. It sounded like something feared, guarded against. But how could you ever be afraid of the Twins? They were such caring souls, fiercely protective of their people.