As Paimon blinked across the lake while Venti shot backward with a sudden burst of wind, Aether was left quietly pondering about his allies. Or more specifically, whether the two just believed in his abilities to get out of trouble, or if it was an Archon's predisposition to take care of themselves first and foremost.
Case in point, he currently had a bit too good of a view of the dragon's teeth. They were sharp, they were pointy, and he did not appreciate how the close-up view was getting even closer.
Dodge? He'll leap right into the water. Block? He didn't like his chances with a dragon bigger than the statue. Oh, the statue-
Aether turned and dived, rolling himself to the base of the statue. An intelligent being would hesitate against throwing its head at carved stone made to last the elements. In the seconds it will take to bite or claw him at a safer angle, he would have all the time in the world to strike back.
Of course, there was the chance it wasn't as intelligent as he thought it was and choose to slam its head against him straight into the statue. Like a hammer striking a sword into the anvil, except he was a bit squishier than steel. So, he brought out Dreamer, propping its edge against his side for a deadly counterattack-
A roar – maybe frustrated, maybe not – and a gale of wind nearly pushed him off the island. When Aether instinctively raised his free hand to guard his eyes, there was a dull crack, and suddenly, he was sheltering his face from shards of stone and pebbles instead of just the wind.
The dragon had shifted its forward momentum towards the sky and hurled itself upwards using the statue as a launchpad. At least, that was his guess right now. As to how it had changed direction so quickly? By using stone Venti's wings as grips, of course.
When he opened his eyes again, the dragon was gone – as were the wings of the statue. Aether idly noted how the statue would be less effective as a shield now, focusing on searching the skies as quickly as he can to see where the dragon had gone. With his enemy capable of attacking from up above, he was at a distinct disadvantage – something he'll have to make up for with what he did have.
An infinite capacity to snark and his sword were all he needed to bring down a dragon.
"Is this the limit of the dragons of this world?" Aether called out. "Flying in head first and running away now that your prey fights back? How absolutely disappointing, Dvalin, I've seen lizards that were smarter than this! Oh, wait, maybe you don't even understand me."
"Dvalin can speak, thank you very much! I taught him how to, but he typically speaks just for me. A little shy, I suppose-?"
Venti sang back something, but Aether deemed it unimportant while he focused on the skies, the blood pumping in his ears, his sword singing in his hands, that mix of anticipating his opponent's next move and seeing if he could match it. It's been far too long since he had a good fight-!
And then he saw it.
Aether frowned at what he saw and lowered his sword.
"KRREEEEEE-!"
"You overgrown lizard, you want a piece of me?! I still remember all the storms you sent my way just to ruin my day, so come on, you and me, let's go!"
"-and our meeting must be blessed by the winds, for we have met, but what breeze could ever come predestined? Hark, Dragon who brings forth both the gentle breezes and the storm's roars! I name you Dvalin, I name you my friend forevermore-!"
"-and better start planning to pay for that statue, Aether, 'cause I sure as the sky above don't have the mora for it! And Paimon, that's enough, you can stop provoking Dvalin now-!"
Looking right across the lake showed Venti doing his best to put himself in between Paimon and the dragon, strumming his lyre with a completely out-of-place smile. Somehow, he was both singing and talking at the same time – a moment of studying his lips told Aether that his song was true while his words were a trick of some sort. Though he couldn't see any physical effects, ruling out a spell of some sort, the dragon did seem to occasionally wince and waver.
But it was still striking at Paimon with reckless abandon, shooting forward with incredible bursts of wind and throwing itself at where ever she went, all the while swerving around the bard. Whether it was its claws or a breath of anemo that frazzled even his senses from all the way here, its bite or cutting gales that left deep gouges in the earth, something would reach out for her.
Fortunately, she was quick enough to dart around its strikes. She seemed to favor small, measured movements, her feet never truly leaving the ground while her daggers were always in motion. Her black scarf whipped around with every hop and turn, a graceful dance with a murderous dragon as her partner.
When the dragon threw its face forwards, maws snapping up where she was in an instant, she reappeared above it with a scattering of constellations, her daggers coming down against where its blank blue eyes were.
But there was a shimmer of wispy blue when her daggers would be just about to land on the dragon. When she threw it at its eye, it would curve away from its body. When she lunged forward to carve away at its skin, her blades would bounce off violently against an invisible wall with an ear-splitting shriek of metal.
The dragon was plenty capable of taking advantage of its much longer reach, doing its best to pin Paimon in place. With every missed strike, the earth would be ruined a little bit more, making it harder for her to navigate the forest-turned battlefield. In response, she started incorporating her blinking into her dance, the small constellations left behind seemingly taunting the dragon.
All of this, Aether studied quietly, his eyes never leaving the dragon's sleek form and jerky movements. And throughout all this time, despite remaining completely motionless and a perfect target, he remained completely unscathed.
Well. Though it wasn't saying much in his current state, this was new.
He wasn't used to being dismissed completely like this. If there was one thing that he remembered, it was that he had eons, eons to train himself. His skills were tested in wars that he could not remember, his bladework honed to reach the ever-lofty stars that demanded absolute perfection. His presence and sword must have dictated how or when a conflict would end and whose victory, if anyone's at all, it would be.
Dreamer shook and creaked. It took a moment for Aether to realize that it was because of his own grip.
And a little dragon was going to just ignore him?
Well, he was going to make the beast regret that.
Aether would have had absolutely no problem using starlight to close in on the dragon's face in an instant. From there, he could happily start slashing at the eyes right alongside Paimon. But the dragon had left him quite the grand opportunity, hadn't it?
So instead, he took a quick breath and a moment to center himself. Aether pulled back his sword so that the blade was parallel to his back. Though he couldn't see it, he knew that it shined in the sun as he fed it all the starlight he can spare. Completely unsafe and terrible for the long-term condition of the blade, but it should be alright with Blade Arts from what he had seen with Paimon before. He aimed for the underside of the neck which was seemingly composed of feathers, marked by a much lighter tone of blue compared to its back.
And then he threw his sword.
A self-sabotaging move that would deprive him of his weapon and do absolutely no damage if it wasn't for two things. One, he could call his sword back to him, and two, he was confident he could throw Dreamer with sufficient velocity to carve through most, if not all, fleshy beings.
It was all in the wrist, really. A powerful flick with a bit of his starlight-infused strength, and the blade became the whirling circle of ow he loved to see. Admittedly, he couldn't recall having tested it against dragon skin protected by an energy from another world, but now was a perfect time to find out.
A satisfactory boom scattered the lake as his sword left his hand, scattering the water and flinging away any fish unfortunate enough to be close to the surface. Paimon turned towards him mid-dodge, wide-eyed, before blinking away. Venti threw out his arm, absolute panic in his eyes, and a barrier of wind formed – in between the dragon and his sword.
Wait, what-?
His sword pierced through the shield after half a breath's delay. But that was enough.
In that minuscule amount of time, the dragon jerked its head towards him.
It looked at him and smiled. And it completed its dive under his sword.
At least, that's what should have happened. His sword should have flown right above its head and body, hitting nothing until it embedded itself in the cliff behind it. But just before his sword completed its fly-by, it got caught in… something. Something that wasn't there before.
With that ear-splitting screech of metal, something shimmered into existence for a split second. Aether caught a glimpse of a great ugly spike just before Dreamer collided with it. An explosion of wind, a flash of purple, and the dragon roared, a shockwave of anemo blasting him off his feet and sending him spinning off the island-
KKREEEEEEE-!
And that's when he heard the roar.
When he slammed back into the earth, Aether found himself instinctively hunched over from the sheer, painful volume. The ground around him was crumbling as anemo snaked through the earth. When it reached him, he hissed from the sudden sting of burning cold that attempted to penetrate his skin wherever it touched. He wasted precious starlight by cycling it through his body, making sure the malignant anemo didn't manage to do so.
When the shaking finally ended and the glow faded, he could hear nothing but his own breathing, muted as his hearing was.
Still, he could see, and that was enough. He could see the dragon lying on its side, its flank moving up and down while it breathed. Drops of purple blood had scattered through the air as it flailed around wildly, but there were nowhere near enough for the wound to be a lethal blow.
Aether limped forward, already planning to jump, recall his blade, and use the momentum to finish the job-
Then Paimon appeared in front of him, arms spread out with a frown. She looked exhausted, the starlight she usually had around her the lowest he had ever felt, but she still stood in his way. It took a moment for her words to filter through the ringing.
"-calm down, alright? I'd like to find out why Dvalin is so dead set on mortally wounding me since it's usually the reasonable one compared to its owner. And just so you know, I'm really against murdering any and all immortals-"
She yelped as she was abruptly shoved aside, and Aether was grabbed by his chest. He could hardly recognize the Anemo Archon in front of him, with a snarl showing too many teeth and the dark gray of a storm in his eyes. "What in Celestia is wrong with you?! What part of my song did you not understand? Dvalin is my friend and we're trying to calm him down, not kill him!"
Out in the corner of his eye, he could see Paimon picking herself up, muttering curses all the while. It was easier avoiding the words of someone with so much hate in his eyes, especially if they were being so unreasonable-"If this is the greeting I can expect from travelers like you, a melody of death and calamity, you and I should both be glad that I have never met your sister."
That threw a bucket of ice over Aether's head. And not just because of the implied threat to his sister.
When and why had he decided that the dragon had to die?
Wait, was he in the wrong in the first place, defending himself and- No, that was an excuse, and a poor one at that. Dvalin had attacked Paimon and Paimon only. Though he was largely indebted to her, that wouldn't have been enough to spur him on to kill with no questions asked.
Was he that prideful of his strength, that bloodthirsty for a good fight? Did he decide the dragon had to die as soon as he was dismissed as a threat?
-hammer against the anvil, he had planned to meet Dvalin's face with his sword-
…no, that wasn't true. Aether breathed a little easier at that realization. He had decided to mortally wound it even before that – as soon as the dragon had lunged at them.
As soon as the dragon had come close enough to him.
…okay, that still sounded pretty bad in his head. What, was he supposed to say that his instinct told him that the dragon had to die within seconds of meeting it?
Before he could respond, Paimon spoke. "Barbatos. Why is Dvalin bleeding out Abyssal energy?" The anger in her voice was coiled taut, but for once, it didn't seem directed at the Anemo Archon.
The grip on his chest loosened. "…what?"
Huh. Maybe he could say that.
"Something felt off about Dvalin, Venti," Aether pleaded, taking the chance to take Venti's hand off his chest and in his. There was no resistance as the Archon was too busy studying the fallen dragon. "I promise you, I heard your song and bear no grievances with you, why would I try to kill your friend otherwise?"
Venti disappeared from his grasp, only to kneel down and touch a particularly large splatter. The purple hissed and steamed from the Archon's touch, but Venti didn't seem to notice. "Durin's poison… No, that shouldn't be possible. Dvalin, DVALIN!" he suddenly howled, his voice echoing from every direction. "SPEAK WITH ME, DRAGON OF THE EAST!"
"Barbatos? My… my oldest friend, is that you?"
So, dragons of this world could speak. A very deep growl as it shifted and struggled to right itself, but surprisingly gentle.
"Dvalin!" Venti broke out into a smile – one filled with so much relief that it had to be genuine. "Finally, you're choosing to speak. Yes, it's me, Barbatos, your oldest friend. Let us go rest and recover, perhaps under the shade of Vennessa's tree that you liked so much. But I insist that you tell me just what had harmed you so grievously to such a degree-"
"Barbatos, free me from this darkness," the dragon begged. Its head swayed blindly towards the Archon, the rest of his body remaining motionless. "I see only hate and fear, I hear only anger and despair. Your voice, the darkness falters from it. Your music chased it away, but for only the briefest of moments. What happened to me, my oldest friend? What have I done to deserve this?"
For the first time, Venti faltered with his words. "It's… it's going to be alright, Dvalin. You're going to get better, the Abyss will know what it means to impede our freedom, and we'll be dancing in the winds in no time. So please, keep listening. Keep listening to my voice, I promised I'll never lead you astray, remember-?"
"There was a light just now," the ailing dragon muttered, maybe without even realizing that he had done so. "It… it burned like the sun but was just as warm, a clarity of a hundred of your songs-"
"Like this, Dvalin, friend of Barbatos?" Aether called out. Before Venti could block him, he brought forth the last remaining starlight within him. Any more and he was in going to start risk passing out, but if it was now or never to prove his innocence. And besides, he wanted, no, needed the proof. Proof that he wasn't a cold-hearted murderer behind his lost memories-
The dragon's head swiveled towards him. Its ethereal blue eyes, the same shade of anemo, widened. "Yes, it is! Oh, Child of the Sun, let the warmth touch my heart!"
Even as Dvalin struggled to get up, desperate to reach him, Aether glanced at Venti, waiting for his permission. The Archon hesitated for the briefest moment, then nodded firmly.
Aether staggered forwards, a star's warmth cupped within his hands. Dvalin strained its head toward him – no, towards the warm glow emanating through his fingers. There was nothing purer than the light of the stars, after all. Quietly, he prayed to the stars above that this sliver of his would be enough.
He was all too aware how Venti and Paimon both watched with bated breath as he laid his hand on Dvalin's head. It was smooth to the touch, with hardened scales that were surprisingly warm with life. And he willed it to grow warmer, for the star's light to cleanse away the filth poisoning the noble dragon. Dvalin first shuddered, then pressed himself against his hand, and Aether could feel the dragon's muscles relax as he desperately drank away his starlight-
That moment of inattention, as they were looking at the miracle happening in front of them, was what cost them.
Three beings popped into existence behind him. All of them were already chanting in a strange, haunting language.
Aether spun around. Red, white, and blue – a moment of looking into the blank darkness in their eyes was all Aether needed to know that the three had to die.
Pillars of fire erupted around Venti, forcing him upwards even as a burst of anemo tore threw their shields. Shards of ice were flung at Paimon, forcing her to throw herself to the side even as her two daggers found their mark. A bubble of all things trapped him when his sword refused to materialize, shoving him away.
And purple glyphs formed around Dvalin, who snarled and tore through it to no avail. The glyphs would disappear as soon as his claws came close, only to reappear, the letters doubling in number.
Two of the things crumpled to the ground, unmoving, but the white one finished its chant. It bowed towards Venti.
The glyphs pulsed eerily. Dvalin took off to the skies with a roar of challenge, kicking up a cloud of dust, his four wings glimmering with anemo as he shot through the air. The purple faded all at once, and Aether dared to hope-
A circle of darkness enveloped the dragon. When it blinked into non-existence, Dvalin was gone.
The last one spoke, its chittering voice grating at Aether's ears. "The dragon has yet to serve its purpose. A thousand and none apologies, Archon of Anemo, but we shall borrow your pet once more-"
A gale flung its tiny form towards Venti and into his shaking hands.
"You. WHERE HAVE YOU TAKEN HIM?!"
The thing only laughed. "The chess piece speaks, but I shall not. Glory to Her Grace, glory to Her Grace-!"
A spike of anemo erupted from its chest. But it still laughed, melting away into ash within the Archon's hands leaving nothing but its echo. The other two had already melted away into nothingness.
Under the setting sun that cast shadows across the statue's broken wings, there was absolute silence but for Venti's heavy breathing.
And that's a wrap! This marks the first chapter I rewrote more than half of before publishing. Believe it or not, the way it went in my head went in a much darker direction, and I was being genuine when I say I want this fic to be relatively lighthearted.
I hope that the fight scene delivered! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out – I wanted to emphasize that with eons of traveling under his belt, Aether is an analytical fighter, used to any and every trick in the book. Nope, he won't be gasping in surprise at every move his opponent makes. I'm not too sure about my pacing, though, with this being the largest single scene I wrote so far. Too many words compared to the number of actions taken, maybe? Any and all feedback will be appreciated!
Also, Your Place in the Stars now has a TV Tropes page! I cannot thank AngelicTrinity (or LuminescenceEstelle on AO3) enough for taking the time and effort to write it all out without asking for a single thing in return. Really, I was laughing and cackling like a maniac as I read through my own tropes, it made me that happy to see my work being analyzed to that extent. Again, thank you. It means the world to me.
And finally, I'm posting this in AO3 as well! It's under the same name, SenseNonsense, and will be updated whenever I update on Fanfiction as well.