Continued from || x || @vigilant-shadow
Venti sighed. He was fully aware of his hypocritical behavior, but their stations in life were rather different. The bard wasn’t just some inhuman being, he was a god. It didn’t matter that he was more susceptible to injuries, now; the fact of the matter remained that he was still Barbatos.
“Trust me, this is nothing,” Venti lied, wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his lips (he’d taken quite the blow to the face, earlier, which had completely knocked him off of his feet). He looked exhausted; it was hard enough just to keep his head up to look up at Xiao, even at eye level. “Besides, being a burden on someone isn’t my style, y’know. You have enough things to worry about; I don’t want to add myself to that long list.”
He didn’t want to add the fact that his pride had taken a particularly sharp blow. In his human disguise, with him walking around with a great portion of his powers hidden and sealed away, it left Venti rather vulnerable. He never knew if a battle was going to end up being worth releasing his true powers, which now were no longer infinite, so he had to be careful. If he pushed himself too far, he’d have to take time to rest at Windrise, to regain the strength he’d lost.
“I just need a moment, is all,” Venti sighed, offering a softer smile to Xiao, to try and ease the other’s worries. “Several Abyss Mages attacking me, all at once, when I was on my own, was just a bit... difficult.”
