An impromptu change of plans (pt.2)
From his place, the mighty Adeptus took a few hesitant steps towards you, almost completely disregarding the blond beside you. “One does not believe his eyes,” he spoke, stopping in front of you.
Silence followed as you tried to remember his name. Once more, your memory failed you. With a sigh of defeat and a solemn nod, the Adeptus stepped back.
“A cruel fate was bestowed upon you, one knows of. The aftermath of such, you do not deserve,” the stag said, a look of pity plastered onto his face for a brief moment. Then he turned to Aether. “Might this be a friend of yours,” he asked. You nodded. “Friend of Y/N, into the abode of the Adepti you come. Why?”
You watch Aether fumble with the sigil before presenting it.
The stag hummed. “He before you is the mighty and illuminated Adeptus, Moon Carver. Speak, Traveler. What business have you here?”
Just as the blond opened his mouth, another voice was heard.
“It’s the assassins! They dared to flee here to Jueyun Karst!”
The Millelith soldiers had been on your tail the whole time? You made a mental note not to get too distracted while traveling. They bickered between themselves for a moment before brandishing their spears and taking an offensive stance.
Moon Carver merely huffed as if this was but a minor inconvenience. “Disturbing our borders…see them gone. One will not have interruption.”
As Aether summoned his blade, you shifted and bared your fangs. It was the two of you who decided to make the first move, Aether charged straight at the Millelith sergeant while you took care of the others.
You opted for a gentler approach…well, as gentle as you could be given the situation. Assuming Aether felt the same, your goal was only to drive them away, not to kill them. Which, in theory, sounds easy enough. However the growing number of wounds under your fur would beg to differ. It wasn't long before your temper ran short.
Igniting the paws of your forelegs as well as the tip of your tail, you began to swipe and lash out seemingly wildly. Though you were careful not to actually obliterate any of the soldiers you faced.
With broken spears and singed uniforms, the Millelith sergeant finally called for a retreat.
Once they were out of sight (and out of ear shot), you shifted back. Changing forms while injured was an uncomfortable experience. The process of your bones, muscles, and skin moving around would oftentimes agitate the injury and make it much worse. Such was the case for you now. The cuts and scratches from the fight weren’t life threatening, but even so, they were painful.
“Y/N!” Paimon materialized next to you. “Oh, those look bad! Don’t worry, Y/N, Paimon and Aether will patch you up good as new! Whatever you do, just stay with us!” She continued to ramble as she retrieved some bandages from Aether.
Wincing at the feeling of your wounds being touched, you let out a nervous laugh. “Paimon, you don’t have to worry that much,” you began, placing a hand on her little head. “It’s gonna take a lot more than some flimsy spears to put me out of commission.”
“Well Paimon doesn’t care, you’re our friend! Of course Paimon is going to worry about you!” The white haired pixie then whipped around to look at Aether. “If either of you get hurt like this and make Paimon worry again, Paimon will…” she paused, stumbling over her words in an attempt to find a suitable threat. “Paimon’ll eat all of your favorite foods without sharing!”
Aether placed a hand on his hip and raised a brow. “Then maybe we’ll finally have a reason to eat you,” he joked, earning a shriek from her.
Before she could snap out a response, Moon Carver slowly made his way to you and Paimon.
Focusing solely on you, he pressed his snout to your forehead and you felt a soothing wave of energy overtake you. Shutting your eyes, you breathed a sigh of relief as the pain from your injuries faded away.
Even when he pulled away, you felt at peace…at least physically.
“Divine energy from one’s self is enough to heal most physical injuries, rather useless since we Adepti sustain injuries very rarely.” He said. Shaking his fur, he returned to the topic on hand. “We’ve digressed. State your purpose, traveler.”
“PREPOSTEROUS!” He bellowed, stomping his hooves into the ground. “The Liyue Qixing…utterly disappointing.” The Adeptus’ gaze hardened. “How could someone possibly assassinate Rex Lapis during the Rite of Descension…” he stomped once more, rearing his head back furiously. “…and then place suspicion upon the attendees!?”
You opened your mouth to interject but, against your will, your hand clamped itself over your mouth once again. The Adeptus didn't seem to notice.
Moon Carver let out a sigh, recomposing himself to speak again. “Travelers, of the unjust accusations placed upon the three of you, one has become aware.” He paused. “The mind knows its answer. Though one must consult with one’s fellows, lest the mind be misguided.” Standing tall, Moon Carver issued your next course of action. “Go. Take with you your Sigil of Permission, carry with you a message.”
Aether gripped the sigil tightly. “Who should we look for?”
“Mountain Shaper and Cloud Retainer can be found here. Only fate can decide if you shall find them.”
The three of you nodded, prompting him to continue.
“There exists a Conqueror of Demons, a Guardian Yaksha. Go to Wangshu Inn. There you shall seek him.”
You could swear you saw the faintest smile across his muzzle.
“One believes that one’s fellows shall be elated to see you again, Y/N.” And with that, Moon Carver bounded off deeper into Jueyun Karst.
I wish I could just copy and paste things from my brain onto here but A.) that’s not possible and B.) I think in pictures so I don’t know how that would work out. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!! And as always, thank you for reading!!!
