Quick, write something while everyone is too distracted by Inazuma!
The part of your journey that lies after the storm may well prove to be the most arduous.
You will be plagued by a perpetual tempest the entire trip.
The Alcor will need some time. You will be notified once all the preparations have been made.
-0-
The blonde felt his eye crack open. A second passed, and it was immediately assaulted by an overflowing amount of light. A sigh left him as he reorientated himself. After months of sleeping outside and waking up at the first call of the sun, it was still a minor shock to his system to have this much brightness on him the literal instant he awoke.
Maybe I should finally talk with Tubby. He thought this, despite knowing with absolute certainty that the proper time for that chat had already come and gone by this point. Being simply annoyed at the signal to wake up was a massive improvement over his initial reaction, which was to bolt out of bed sword in hand and assume there were intruders. He half-smiled, half-winced at that memory. Invaders? In this place? About as close to impossible as one could conceivably get. Only himself and a select few individuals had access to the realm…and even if someone else DID find a way around that, he was fairly certain that the guardian present would have something in store for them. All of this wasn't even accounting for the fact that someone not welcome would first need to know where to look, his home wasn't somewhere you could just stumble upon.
This train of thought allowed for the adventurer's brain to clear up the haze of sleep and begin processing another day. He gave the room a quick once-over just to re-confirm that everything was where it was supposed to be. Everything was. Bed neatly put together, books and maps up on shelves in proper order, organized by the main seven regions, a medium-sized package protruding out at the end, and the center table and chairs of the room remaining untouched. With a heavy yawn, the boy lurched forward off of bed and began walking to the door.
Passing the guest room to the main area (and nearly smacking his lower half against a table) he was unsurprised to see a certain fairy lying on a sofa, completely asleep. Normally so talkative and energetic, it always amused Aether to see his closest companion…well, not that. Slowly walking past her as to not interrupt the rest, he softly opened the front door and slipped outside.
A familiar voice called out. "Good morning, Aether."
"Morning." Still a bit sleepy, he rubbed his eye.
"Is Paimon still asleep?"
A quick nod in response.
"I see. Off to make breakfast?"
"Yeah. Do you…want anything?"
The spirit shook his head, prompting Aether to sigh in relief as he headed behind the castle. He had no idea what Tubby would even want to eat. It was easy enough to make meals for 'human' adepti like Madam Ping or Yanfei, but for the guardian of a teapot? Aether thought back to when he made food for Cloud Retainer, about how he felt so far out of his comfort zone when cooking…
Man, that was a long time ago…a couple months now, maybe?
Peacefully reflecting on his past adventurers made a light smile form on Aether's face as he started preparing the nearby stove.
-0-
"Mm, this is so good~ One day, Paimon wants to be able to cook as well as you!" The floating 'child' chirped, cheeks stuffed with fried egg.
"Thanks." If I had a Mora for every time she said something like that, I could afford Ninggaung's palace… "You know, I could always teach you the basics of cooking, it's easy when you get used to it."
"Nah, that's your job! Paimon's is to eat and point out areas of improvement!" She said all this with a satisfied grin, causing Aether to sigh as the obvious hypocrisy in her statements went unremarked on.
"Alright Aether, time to check on today's commissions! March!" The Honorary Knight touched the trees and boosted himself up, feeling the grass underneath one last time before walking.
The location where Aether and Paimon had chosen to set up shop was quite interesting. Next to the building where fellow adventurers Cyrus and Jack often talked during the day was a drop to a lower level of the city. What was odd though was that despite being tucked away inside Mondstadt with the stone wall at the end to separate it from the outside world, there was a layer of grass as the ground instead of the typical stone everywhere else. This small space was complete with trees in each of the corners, making it feel almost like a patch of forest. It was all to Aether and Paimon's benefit though, and after working out the details with Jean, they had an unofficial location for their home in Mondstadt.
Obeying his guide, Aether took a series of twists and turns, passed by Good Hunter and the general goods store, and proceeded down the main path of stairs. This was such a familiar setting for him, another beautiful morning, he could've walked this path if he was blindfolded. Though, there was something uncommon…or rather someone uncommon. Katheryne was talking to another person, prompting the adventurer to grow a smile. He instantly knew who they were, their white hair and green eyes made it obvious.
"Bennett!"
Taking full quick sprints towards his buddy, he noticed something….strange. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Katheryne…tense up? Was that right?
"Aether, hey!" Snapping out of his hesitation, Bennett was quickly on him with a sharp smile. The unlucky adventurer was just so easy to get along with thanks largely to his never-giving up attitude, Aether couldn't help but automatically smile back.
"What are you doing? I don't see you here normally."
"I was taking care of some slimes near Dawn Winery. Can't let them get too close! There were around…hm, seven of them which two being the big kind." He recalled with a tilt of his head.
"Couldn't you get Fischl or Razor to help out?" Paimon asked.
"Nah. With my bad luck, I want to handle these kinds of commissions by myself." An unexpected grin appeared on his face at this part of the story. "Well, I say that, but you are not going to believe this…" Bennett seemed very excited to continue, so Aether and Paimon didn't interrupt.
"I got lucky, nothing went wrong this time!"
Coming from anyone else, both of them probably would've snickered at the storyteller. Who would ever brag about taking care of a couple of Cyro slimes with no difficulty? But Bennett was the one exception, leading both jaws of the pair to swing wide open. It was common knowledge that Bennett's luck was utterly terrible, anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Although he was possibly the most straightforward and friendly guy in Mondstadt, the stories surrounding him were more than enough for most people to reject his offers for a partnership.
And here he was, apparently telling them that nothing awful happened. Aether had to blink twice and pinch himself, just to make sure this wasn't an elaborate prank.
"Do you…do you think your luck has turned around?" Paimon asked the glaring question. A Bennett with good fortune…the blonde couldn't even begin to imagine that. What would happen to the Knights of Favonius in that case? To Mondstadt? To Teyvat itself?!
"That would be amazing, but…" Bennett awkwardly rubbed his head, much like he did when he was struck by a pebble. "It's probably just sparing me this once. I'm going to be extremely careful and just hang around here the rest of the day…it'll strike back at me eventually." He grew a look of contemplation before grinning and sticking out a thumbs-up. "I'll be alright though, it can't hold me down for long!"
"Oooh, Paimon believes you! And with that…" The fairy turned to the nearby receptionist, still paying attention despite the conversation drifting away from her. "Katheryne! Got any commissions for us?"
The answer came immediately. "As a matter of fact, I do. But…"
There it is again. Aether's brow lowered. Katheryne is…hesitating. She never hesitates…Why? What's going on here?
He didn't have to wait long before being proven right. "Well, I have something important to tell you two." She slightly turned to Bennett with a expectant look on her face.
The silver-haired adventurer got the memo. "O-oh, ok, I guess this is some business for the Honorary Knight to handle. I get the picture, I'll just go to Floral Whisper or somewhere…" With a halfhearted wave, he quickly walked off.
After confirming that Bennett was out of hearing range, she began speaking. "I have a message for you…someone from Liyue."
Aether paused. Liyue…
Paimon crossed her arms and began speculating. "Hmm…could it be Ganyu again? Madam Ping? What about Yanfei?"
Katheryne shook her head. "No, the person asking for you this time was…"
"…"
"Beidou. Captain Beidou wants to see you. The Alcor is ready to take you to Inazuma."
-0-
The air was hot, filled with the smell of fire. After Katheryne finished talking, Aether and Paimon had staggered over to Good Hunter, squeaked out an order of Fisherman's Toast for them both, and collapsed on their respective seats. Ignoring Sara's look of concern was easy, she might as well have not even existed.
The pair had felt this way once before, when they headed for Liyue for the first time, this strange mix of excitement and hesitation bubbled up in both of their guts again. But considering the amount of time they had been waiting to go across the sea, the aforementioned feelings were strongly magnified.
There was another fact neither of them could escape from though…with how isolated Inazuma was, going back once they left would be an exercise in futility unless something unexpected happened. Dismissing that possibility, a voice echoed in Aether's mind.
Today is your last day as the Honorary Knight.
I was expecting some kind of farewell scene in Liyue, but we didn't get one, hence the inspiration. This will be a short story (about 5 parts), so I hope you all enjoy.