Hullo. This one shot was in honor of Venti's birthday. I originally wrote this story in spanish, so I'm sorry if there are some mistakes.
Disclaimer: cursive letters are not mine, those parts are original content from the game.
In Mondstadt of old, Venti met a young boy. This lad knew how to play the lyre, and longed to write the greatest poem of all.
"I do so wish to see the birds in flight."
So said the boy who had never seen the blue sky, eagles, or the green grass, his voice almost utterly drowned by the wind.
"Friend, will you not come along?"
Venti was looking forward to his birthday very impatiently. He knew that this year would be different due to all the situations that had happened. Some people had discovered his identity and, to some extent, it brought him relief, he didn't have to hide from them at least. Really, it was not in his plans for them to find out who he was, but, due to the circumstances, he could not help it. It was something that he knew could happen at any moment, besides, considering that Aether was there, he was not surprised. The traveler had changed the course of Teyvat since he arrived. He still didn't know how to feel about it, at the moment, he viewed the changes in a positive light.
Venti was happy when his birthday finally came. That day, Paimon and the traveler found him half asleep near the tree in Windrise.
"The bard is so lazy. Why isn't he enjoying his birthday?!" He heard the flying creature complain. He couldn't help but laugh, she sounded so upset.
He couldn't believe it. Time had passed so fast. He sat up and smiled at them.
"Did you bring me food, Paimon?" he asked.
"Oh, I didn't. But you have to come with us" Paimon said, with a mischievous smile.
"Come on," he crooned as he stood up.
"Nonono, it's a surprise, you don't have to see where we're going" Paimon demanded.
"I'll put you this to cover your eyes," Aether told him, as he showed him a piece of cloth.
He closed his eyes in response as he laughed. Aether nor Paimon didn't mention anything about his birthday, but he imagined why they wanted to blindfold him.
"Did you prepare a surprise for me, Paimon? Very nice of you"
"It is not true! It wasn't me!"
"Paimon…" Aether warned, while Venti laughed again as he covered his eyes.
"Hurry up. I'm hungry" was what he heard Paimon say most of the way.
When his eyes were uncovered, he was in Diluc's tavern, with him and Jean. They had prepared a dinner with all the delicacies of Mondstadt, it was too much for only three people and a quarter of a person. He could almost hear a complaint from Paimon in his head for thinking like that, he giggled internally at the thought.
"Happy birthday," it was Jean who told him. Her cheeks were flushed and she was avoiding his gaze. She provoked him tenderness, she was very devoted and she had many expectations in him that he did not think he could fulfill, he only hoped never to disappoint her. Venti knew that she was the one who had cooked each meal with great detail, so he felt warm. He didn't remember when was the last time he had felt so cozy. Aether apologized, and said that he would come back later, Paimon on the other hand, stayed with them.
"Thank you very much, Jean"
Diluc put a glass of apple cider in front of him.
"Drinks on the house tonight?" Venti joked.
"Drinks are always on the house when you're involved. But this and other drinks are prepared especially for you tonight," his voice was neutral as he shook his head. The bard laughed and thanked him anyway, Diluc was someone special, and he was not well liked in Mondstadt, yet he knew he had a soft side.
Taking a sip, the cider tasted fresh and sweet, he hadn't drunk such a good one in years. The flavor was typical of this land, dynamic and soft, he felt the same when he tried the food that Jean had prepared.
For Venti, Jean and Diluc were still children and he couldn't help but see them as such. He was proud and appreciated how much they had grown and how much each one had changed. He loved the idea of spending his birthday with them.
They celebrated a good part of the night, until Venti felt full and they decided to leave each on their own. It made him a little sad to say goodbye to the children. When he left the tavern, he saw that Aether was watching in the street, he seemed as if he had waited outside the tavern for some time.
The traveler accompanied him in silence, Paimon had fallen asleep some time ago. Venti didn't even notice how they got back to the Windbreak tree. At his side, time seemed nonexistent.
"It's not much, but happy birthday Venti," Aether told him, as he handed him a small wooden box. When he opened it, there was a dandelion, a windwheel aster, a wolf hook, a small lamp grass, and a cecilia. All the flowers that people offered him at the Wind Flower Festival, all so unique and representing the same thing: freedom. And, at the bottom of the box, a feather, however, it was not just any feather. It was an eagle feather. He felt a lump in his throat and looked closely at Aether, vehemently.
The elemental being Venti obtained the feather of an eagle for the lad living in that storm-shrouded city, who had never seen a bird in his life.
Then, war broke out in Mondstadt, in the name of freedom.
With the feather tucked away in his breast pocket, Venti watched the fall of the eccentric ruler amid the wrack and ruin of revolt together with his friend.
The ruler had believed that he had given his subjects a city free from the bitter cold, and to the end, he believed that they had loved him as he loved them.
Yet, despite the victory, Venti was never able to give that feather to the lad, for that lad had fallen in the battle for the sake of song, sky, and birds, and for the people who, like him, had dwelled within the storm-wall. With the crumbling of an ancient seat of divinity, a new god was born. The Anemo Archon Barbatos felt power flowing at his fingertips.
His first use of this power was to reconstitute himself in the likeness of that young lad.
For only if he wore human shape could he play the lyre that the lad so loved.
Plucking its strings, he scattered the ice and snow and split the mountains with a divine wind.
He bade Mondstadt become a city of freedom, a nation without a king.
In future, he believed, it would become a better, more romantic city.
"Surely, he too would have wanted to live in such a place."
"I was late for the eagle's feather. I couldn't find any today, and I knew you'd like it" Aether apologized, avoiding his gaze.
So many memories came to his mind, reminding him of who he really was and who had gotten him there. He wished his friend could be there, to see how much Mondstadt had changed.
"Without a doubt, it is the best birthday present," he said to Aether, placing the feather on his chest to always carry it with him. Suddenly he felt dazed, but lighter, freer. It was as if that door had been waiting to be closed for a long time, the uneasiness about not being able to deliver that feather so long ago… receiving it now, it was as if his friend had also received it. The traveler was always full of surprises. He wanted to ask him if he knew the meaning of the feather, but he decided it was better that way. He wasn't ready for that answer.
He said goodbye to his birthday full of melancholy, with his characteristic laugh as he gazed at the stars together with Aether, ready for more adventures, knowing that fate was unpredictable.
I'd be grateful if you have any comments about what you liked or how to improve.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Discord Tag: Canelaby#9898
