dndkeg: Yup, I think the same lol. I hope you enjoyed the holidays as well!
Happy 2022 everyone!
The only sound that could be heard throughout the entirety of Stormbearer's Point was the wind softly blowing.
Amber couldn't believe what she was seeing, and Aether watched in silence as her fingers slowly released their grip on the bow, which was followed by a simple impact on grass. This would not be acknowledged by any of the people present.
He couldn't speak and barely registered his position. The words just got caught in his throat where they ceased to be. Somewhere his mind still worked though, luckily enough, so he managed to straighten out his legs and back, allowing full mobility once again.
"A-Aether? Is…that…really…?" She took a tentative step towards him, so slowly almost as if she believed that if she closed her eyes, he would disappear again. His throat picked up on what Amber was saying and suddenly felt like it could choke out a few words.
"Yes. P-Paimon's here too, see?" Taking a quick look back towards the tree where he'd come from, Aether was very relieved to see that his companion didn't just disappear into her space again. Instead Paimon, who was rarely speechless, couldn't fully process that the conversation was now directed to her and just simply waved to the Outrider.
The short time for that allowed Aether's brain to figure out what to say next. Turning back now, "S-See, it really is-"
Of course, he didn't exactly get far. One second he was looking at an Amber that was strangely much larger than she was at the start of the stare down…and now the only thing he saw was the fluffy clouds that dotted the blue sky.
There was an incredible warmth coming from his chest, his neck felt like it was being weighed down, and the back of his head hurt from a sudden collision. Only slightly though, as it had been cushioned by…what looked to be…grass?
Moving his eyes downward as far as they could possibly go without making anything else shift, he was able to make out the many tall green stalks stretching out upwards to the same clouds…he was definitely either on the ground or going absolutely insane at the worst time.
"It's you."
…This is… At those spoken words, the world was flooded with colors and feelings beyond the simple thoughts of identification that he was using just earlier. For example, the surrounding blades of grass were far more complicated than just being called "green", containing all shades of the natural color. Darker to the soil, lighter and shinier to the tip, reflecting the sunlight through tiny drops of rain that they had experienced earlier. Speaking of the sun and sky, he could now recognize the white wisps that were once clouds themselves. And, Aether thought, there was something very human-like about the touch on his neck.
He tried to push himself up off the ground using his elbows and hands, but there was no way that was going to work, he just didn't have the proper leverage.
"Hey Amber…I don't mean to pry, but can you get off me? I'm starting to feel like Paimon."
A sharp breath out of disbelief was heard, and Aether felt his chest relax soon after. In the second he was afforded, he pulled up from the grass and was promptly greeted with a close-up of Amber's face. They were close enough for him to see that her lips were slightly quivering and…her eyes…they had…
"I really hope those are happy tears-"
He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before she crashed into him once again. But he had a funny feeling that Amber was about to do just that, so his previously-grounded arms absorbed the blow by sneaking underneath her own, wrapping themselves around her back. Of course she was in the process of embracing him again, but this time they were level with each other.
"You're…you're back…" Warm breath tickled the nape of his neck, and it was the final thing that was needed for Aether.
This was real…
Amber was with him again…
They had done it.
He put his hand on her hair…such a lovely feeling.
"Thanks for waiting."
-0-
The two stayed wrapped up together for several minutes after, both heads buried in each other's shoulders. Eventually though, they had no choice but to move away, lest the day completely pass them by. Plus reuniting was only the first part of Aether's plan as far as he was concerned, he still had a lot to tell her after all. So under Paimon's watchful gaze, they got up from their embrace and walked over to the shade of a thick nearby tree and promptly sat down shoulder-to-shoulder. Of course, she was sure to retrieve her bow as well.
"Geez, that was some hug~" Paimon gleefully remarked in the usual tone.
Amber's face turned a little red at that. "S-sorry about that, I just didn't think….you're not hurt, are you?"
Rubbing his head, Aether laughed. "Took harder hits in Inazuma, don't worry."
"Ah right. I suppose that's a good place as any to ask about your latest adventure." She smiles at this, which makes Aether feel just terrific.
"Allow Paimon!" The fairy zips down right in front to the couple now, about to launch into an explanation. But before she can, Aether holds out an open hand in front of her.
"Wait. As much as I would love to talk about this, it's quite a long story and well…don't you have some jobs to do, Ms. Outrider?" He winks and smiles in time with her realization.
Undaunted though, Amber pops up to her feet with new vigor and extends a hand to him, which he takes right away. "You're right of course! Should we head back to Mondstadt then?"
At this, Aether hesitates for a moment but makes sure to answer before she could worry. "I don't think I'll go to the city right away, it's probably for the best if I talk to just you first. Get my thoughts in order without worrying about screwing up in front of Jean."
"Yeah, that seems smart…I guess we'll talk about Inazuma later?"
"If you're free tonight, we could meet then. As for where…how about Windrise? No point going anywhere crazy."
"Hmm…" Amber closed her eyes and thought for a minute, putting a hand to her chin. "But wait…what about Venti? He was there last time, right?"
Ah yeah, he was. "You don't have to worry, I'm pretty sure he knows I was back the second I stepped foot in Mondstadt again."
She gives him a curious look at this point. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Oops…He screwed up here. "U-um, I think he saw me when I was trying to go around Dawn Winery. You know, couldn't exactly walk through that place with Diluc there." Forgive me Venti…
That excuse seemed to work luckily as Amber could be heard muttering something about the bard's "addiction to wine" which made Aether sign in relief on the inside. Considering that she learned about Lumine and Khaenri'ah from him (albeit indirectly for the latter), the one actual revelation left that she didn't know about- Venti's real identity- had a habit of accidentally slipping his mind He wouldn't normally hide anything from her if there wasn't a strong enough reason to, but just saying it wouldn't exactly be fair, now would it?
Venti and Zhongli don't say who they are for a reason, unlike Raiden. I have to respect that.
"So what do you say?" He got back to the main point upon Amber finishing. "Windrise tonight?"
"…Alright, sounds like a plan!" She grins full of happiness.
"Great!" Paimon confirms for him. "But until we're back in Mondstadt, there's no reason why we can't just talk about other stuff. For example…has anything interesting happened here?
Aether could just tell she held back from making another food-related comment, but Amber calls his companion next to her before she could. However, instead of going in for a whisper or something similar, the archer instead pulls her in for another hug. Given that Paimon was obviously much smaller though, Amber was careful not to crush her again.
"W-Woah, w-what was that for?!" Paimon stammers out, clearly caught off-guard and embarrassed.
"You kept your promise Paimon, you took care of Aether for me." She did a quick point before grabbing his hand again. "Thanks~|"
-0-
""Think she succeeded?"
"Paimon, please stop asking me this."
"Well excuuuuuse Paimon for being worried about your girlfriend's habit!"
Aether easily grins back. "There's being concerned and then there's asking me thirty times in an afternoon."
With a huff Paimon falls silent while the adventurer took in the cool night air. It had been a while since he had really gotten to experience this atmosphere and he was sure to indulge. In line with their earlier planning, the pair had separated from Amber just before the bridge back to the city and gone to Windrise to wait around for the day to roll by. As restless as he felt originally about doing nothing, Aether eventually settled in and began to relax. The peace of Mondstadt was such a stark reversal from what had been going on in Inazuma…
"Look alive, here she comes!" Paimon snapped him out of his half-sleep state.
With a rise of his head, he saw Amber bounce down the marked path, sporting a very happy smile on her face.
"Hey, how were today's jobs?" That question made him truly feel like he was settling back in, he used to ask that when they just started dating after all.
She shrugged. "Nothing out of the ordinary. A few more hillichurl camps here, watch the church for Albert, retrieve some lost items, standard stuff really."
Paimon interjected. "Did you tell anyone about us? Paimon values her privacy, you know." She lied, to the amusement of the two.
"I avoided Keaya and Lisa for the day, if that's what you're asking. As for Jean…I think she recognized that I was happy about something, but she didn't pry."
"Man, you need to get better at lying~" A quick joke from the glutton amongst them.
She objects to this. "Hey! I do not! Lying is unacceptable for a member of the Knights of Favonius!"
"Then how did Keaya get in?!" This sparks a laugh from all of them,
"Oh right Amber, before we begin-" Aether stands up from the nearby steps as the reaction died down. "Watch this." He breathes in deeply, and much to her surprise, the color on his chest plate, earpiece and other locations on his person switches from green to violet. He then swings his sword with a vertical spin and fires off…three swirling purple blades that run across the ground, split off in different directions, and disappear after a bit.
"…Woahh." Amber said in awe upon the move's completion. "The power of Electro?"
"You know it." He confirms. "That's three elements now. Pretty cool huh?"
"As long as you don't lose yourself when you get all seven, then yes it is." She jokes before heading behind him towards the tree. Staring up at it, she puts an arm around Aether's shoulder and smiles again.
"So…what have you been up to?"
-0-
Talking for a long period of time was never supposed to be one of Aether's strengths, that's why Paimon had an important role, he would joke. And yet when it came to Amber, the words just flowed from him naturally. Call it a side-effect of rehearsing so much on the trip back. Practice did make perfect after all.
What also helped him was the Outrider's reactions. It was the exact sight Aether wanted to see as he described the key landmarks of Inazuma. The Grand Narukami Shrine, Ritou, Inazuma City, and the Komore Teahouse were places that he could see that she'd be very interested in going to one day. and he wasn't done yet. The only thing holding him back from describing more locales was the fact that he had to start talking about the not-so-great parts of his journey then.
With the setting laid for her to visualize, he began recapping the early events that took place while he was there. Describing Thoma, the Yashiro Commission, the early jobs he had to take on (which included delivering a personal letter to someone), and his growing frustration with it all. The last bit surprised Amber, who had gotten so used to his normal attitude towards these kinds of jobs, but Aether told her that this state didn't last much longer.
The next part concerned Ayaka, the Vision Hunt Decree, the three people he met who had their Vision taken away, and the whole ambition vs. eternity concept that was so present throughout his journey. By this time, Paimon had long since tapped out and retired to Aether's Serentea Pot, which filled Amber with a sense of nostalgia. Aether himself realized that it was getting very dark at this point and elected to continued telling her more tomorrow. Plus all the traveling was starting to take its' toll on him anyway.
But it was at this moment…he suddenly began to notice something…odd with Amber. Minor as it may be, there was just a thing inside him that said "this wasn't right". Taking a quick look at her didn't make anything stand out…so what was it…? It's true that her bright reactions of gasping and understanding had diminished somewhat, but he just thought that was due to tiredness.
"Amber? You ok?"
If he wasn't looking so closely, Aether knew he definitely would've missed an unnatural pause to that question. The way her eyes suddenly snapped to attention made it clear her mind was somewhere else, she might not have even really noticed herself.
"Yeah, I'm fine…should probably rest though." She said with a tired smile. "It's been a long day."
Chuckling, he offered her the same room inside the teapot as always, which she took after receiving a promise that Tubby would wake her up early in time to meet with Jean tomorrow.
"You coming too? W-We could…you know…" Both Amber's and Aether's face went various shades of red at her sudden suggestion, even as the archer looked away. Was this her idea of a welcome back?
"…C-Can you wait for me inside for a bit?" He asks after clearing his throat. "I need to think about some things."
Amber nodded. "Same here, no problem." To punctuate her "farewell" as well as give Aether some peace of mind, she gives him a quick peck on the cheek, which re-ignites his chest. However just before she gets sucked into the teapot's swirling light, the blonde thought he saw a slight frown across her face…
One flash later and his girlfriend was gone, leaving Aether all alone in the Mondstadt night. Now he was sure of it, something he'd said about Inazuma didn't feel right to Amber.
Or…or maybe…it was something he hadn't said.