Chapter Text
Lumine had been setting off from Liyue Harbor to complete her daily commissions when she bumped into Zhongli on the way out of the city.
He was dressed smartly as usual, the tails of his brown coat fluttering just past his knees, amber neckpiece and tasseled earring glinting in the sunlight, silver and gold and amber accents lending him an air of gravitas. That was the thing about Zhongli— though retired god he might be, his bearing made him quite conspicuous, despite all his wishes to remain incognito.
“Ah, Traveler. It’s good to see you. As luck would have it, I happened to be looking for you. I’d like your help with a commission.”
Lumine cocked her head. “A commission?” She’d already accepted plenty for the day, but since it was Zhongli asking… “All right, give me the details.”
“Excellent. I knew I could count on you. This particular matter concerns the young adeptus of Guili Plains. He asked for your assistance.”
That made her perk up. “Xiao? He asked for me?” Xiao rarely called upon Lumine of his own volition, preferring instead to show up when summoned by name. “Is it serious?”
“Not life-threatening, but… perhaps delicate would be the way to describe it,” said Zhongli lightly. “Otherwise, I would have gone to help him myself. In any case, I believe your presence would benefit him greatly, Traveler. Would you mind taking this medicine to him on my behalf?” Zhongli offered up a small, nondescript cotton sachet— or it would have been, if not for its odor. Lumine’s nose wrinkled as she took it into her hands. The smell was so spicy and pungent that it made the hairs in her nostrils burn.
“What is this?” She loosened the tie on the sachet and peered inside, finding it crammed with tiny dark spheres that looked like black pearls.
“It is a medicine that the adepti call Remedium Tertiorum. It is a powerful painkiller, created from a blend of rare medicinal herbs suffused with adeptal energy. Ah— please be careful not to ingest any of them yourself. Just one dose is powerful enough to stop a regular mortal’s heart.”
Lumine gulped and tightened the drawstrings on the bag, tucking it carefully into her satchel. “I’ll be careful. So, where am I headed?”
“I believe Xiao is currently resting near Qingyun Peak. It should be easy enough to locate him— you’ll understand when you get there.”
She was puzzled at Zhongli’s evasiveness, but she didn’t question him. The Lord of Geo knew more about Xiao than she did, though she did admit that Xiao seemed to take a liking to her company more. It’s because I feed him, she thought with a wry grin.
“I’m heading off, then. Oh, I almost forgot— payment’s due upfront for this kind of commission.”
Zhongli looked puzzled. “Payment?” When Lumine glared daggers at him, he cleared his throat sheepishly. “To be sure. You may collect your fees from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor…”
“Oh, forget it,” she groaned. “See you later, Zhongli. I’ll let you know when it’s delivered.”
So Lumine made her way up the mountain paths of Jueyun Karst, trekking past twisted pines and rocky crags. The day was cloudy; mist clung to the edges of the cliffs like twisting vines, hiding lush patches of violetgrass and qingxin. Every so often her footsteps would startle a small animal resting in the dew-tipped grass flanking the stone steps.
She stopped to catch her breath under the roof of an ancient pavilion. Her legs ached from climbing so much. Maybe I was overeager, Lumine mused, massaging her sore calves. The thought surprised her. She liked Xiao well enough, maybe even favored him over her other companions, but she didn’t realize she’d missed him so much.
Come to think of it, it had been months since they’d had a proper conversation. Lumine assumed he was busy with his work, so she didn’t bother calling for him. And Xiao, for his part, never paid her direct visits. But he’d always been in the back of her mind.
She’d accepted a few commissions from Verr Goldet and Huai’an in the time she’d stayed in Liyue. Monster activity was rampant in Dihua Marsh, a source of anxiety for Wangshu Inn’s owner and innkeep both— when they got too rowdy, Xiao would take matters into his own hands, and his method of dealing with monsters tended to be… messy. So Lumine had been happy to help out with clearing out the nearby hilichurl camps. He can use his energy on more important things, she’d thought.
Still, even though she was relieved that he could rest for a bit because of her efforts, she couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit disappointed that he never showed up. Reticent and reclusive as ever, she thought, even after all we’ve been through together. Well, whatever. Maybe one of these days I’ll have to bait a trap for him. I wonder how many Almond Tofus it’d take for Xiao to smell it from wherever he is…
She sighed and got to her feet again, making her way across the bridges spanning the dizzying heights of Jueyun Karst. She huffed as she climbed up the trail, the path getting steeper and steeper as she approached Qingyun Peak. The area was so vast, it seemed unlikely she would notice Xiao from such a distance, wherever he might be. Should I call his name?
Just as she was thinking about it, she stopped in her tracks.
The path had flattened out into a wider area with a copse of trees and a rocky outcrop with stone benches. Which was normal, except that in the middle of the outcrop there perched a dark, irregular shape, an unfamiliar sight among the slate gray rocks and green-yellow grasses of Qingyun Peak. It looked like a giant avian-like creature, with massive wings easily twice her height. The feathers were dark teal that looked almost black, fading to a lighter green and finally amber-gold at the tips.
Lumine paused, unsure whether to draw her sword or flee. Then the mass shifted slightly, and she saw a familiar face peeking from the dark feathers.
“Oh, Xiao,” Lumine gasped.
He turned away, face obscured by his dark locks. When he spoke, his voice issued out in low, halting tones.
“I didn’t know who else to call. I… I don’t want anyone else to see me in this state.”
He was sitting atop a stone bench, back hunched slightly, one leg hugged to his chest. He looked bruised and scuffed, but otherwise unharmed. His wings were another issue. A terrible blow had punched a ragged gash through his right wing, dark blood staining the area and pooling to the ground in slow drips. Several crossbow bolts had pierced through the skin as well, peppering his plumage with fletchings. His left wing looked terribly battered; the joint bent at an awkward angle, and his gorgeous feathers were crooked and twisted out of shape.
Lumine all but sprinted to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Xiao, what happened?” she asked, fingers tightening involuntarily as she glanced at the terrible wounds again.
“I was careless,” he growled, his voice laced with pain. “I was hunting demons when I was taken by surprise by another horde. I took on my true form and managed to survive the ambush, but...” He took a long, shuddering intake of breath. “It’s been some time since I was forced to use my full power. It seems I’ve been remiss in my training.”
“Will you— are they— permanent?” Lumine stammered, still in awe at the giant appendages that formed a makeshift canopy above their heads.
Xiao shook his head. “They are temporary remnants of my bestial form. I can’t change back fully until I’m healed.”
“Oh— that reminds me.” Lumine fumbled at her bag, pulling out the small sachet. “Zhongli gave this to me. It’s your Remedium Tertiorum.”
Xiao wordlessly accepted the parcel. He shook three of the small spheres into his palm and popped them into his mouth, chewing fiercely. He grimaced as the taste of the painkillers flooded his mouth, bitter and pungent. But as he swallowed, he sighed deeply, the taut muscles of his body relaxing as the medicine made its way through his system.
“Better?” asked Lumine softly.
He nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“This isn’t why you called me here, though.”
He grunted in assent. “I’m sorry to ask this of you, but… I can’t reach my wings on my own. I need help getting the arrows out and patching up the wound before I can change back.”
“Seems doable enough. What about your left wing?”
“It’s only sprained, not broken. I’ll be fine.”
Lumine frowned. “If you say so.”
Xiao lowered his gaze. “I… I am in your debt, Traveler.”
“Lumine,” she corrected him. “We’re close enough to not have to use titles around each other, right?”
His head dipped in acknowledgment. “As you say.”
“So… how should I do this?” she asked hesitantly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“See if you can reach the biggest wound first. If you need me to move, I’ll move.”
“Okay.” Lumine reached out, unconsciously stroking his wing, ruffling the layers of downy soft feathers as she made her way to his wound. Xiao grunted as her fingers made contact with his plumage, knuckles turning white as his fingers tightened around the bench. He bit back his whimpers as best he could while Lumine explored him, searching for the edges of the gash in his wing, but once she got to his primary feathers he let out a low growl.
“Oh! Did I hurt you?”
“No,” mumbled Xiao. Lumine glanced at him, a question on her lips, but it died as she saw his flushed face and his rapid breaths and the telltale tent in his pants.
“Oh,” Lumine gasped. “S-sorry… I didn’t… I didn’t know…”
“You couldn’t have known,” Xiao rasped, looking steadily ahead. “It’s a physical reaction. Nothing more. It will pass in due time.”
Her heart twinged at that. Somewhere deep down she wanted it to be more than just a reaction; wanted him to desire her as she secretly desired him…
She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. Just ignore it, she urged herself, though she couldn’t suppress the surge of heat that pooled in her core. Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it…
Forcing herself to focus, Lumine gingerly reached out to stroke his right wing again. She flinched as Xiao let out a gasp, his back muscles flexing as he fought to keep himself steady.
“Sorry,” he said under his breath, his teeth gritted in what seemed to be pain. “I’m… it’s sensitive.”
“Don’t apologize,” Lumine mumbled. She bit her lip and determinedly felt her way through the feathers, stopping when she grazed the cold wetness of half-dried blood staining his plumage. “I think I found it. Do you need me to stitch it together? I have a needle and thread in my pack.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Xiao shook out a few more pills of the Remedium Tertiorum, this time crushing the spheres into powder with one squeeze. Lumine gaped as she watched him work his tongue around in his mouth and spit into his palm, swirling around his saliva and the powder with a finger. “Here. Use this,” he said, extending his hand which held the glop over to her.
“Are— are you sure that’s sanitary?” she asked.
He blinked. “Ah. I forgot. Humans don’t use their saliva to clean wounds…”
Without his wings, it was easy to forget that Xiao was actually an illuminated beast. Unlike Cloud Retainer and Mountain and Moon Carver, Xiao exclusively used his human form in combat. Of course some adeptal practices were bound to be strange to the average person.
“S-sorry. I guess that was a dumb question, huh?” she laughed nervously. “Um, how do you want me to use this?”
“Smear the paste over the wound. When mixed with saliva, Remedium Tertiorum acts as a coagulant for open wounds and promotes faster healing. Though it should go without saying this is only for adepti to use. Mortals cannot tolerate having this medicine in their bloodstream.”
Lumine scooped some of the glop into her hands and gently rubbed it into the affected area, wincing in empathized pain as she daubed it over the gash. “It doesn’t hurt?”
He shook his head. “You’re doing fine.”
The wound was about the length of her arm and as wide as her hand. It took multiple pill-and-saliva applications to cover it completely. When it was done, it looked like Xiao’s wing had been smeared with mud by a giant child’s clumsy fingers.
He rustled his wing, flapping it lightly to test it. “Good.”
“Onto the arrows now?”
“Mm.”
There were six of them in total, all lodged in the lining of the wing at different angles. One was even buried between the thin bones that formed the wrist of his wing. She decided to remove that one first. Lumine gripped the shaft of the bolt tightly, brow furrowed in preparation.
“I’m going to pull it out,” she warned.
“Quickly,” Xiao growled, his voice a rusted sword grinding against a whetstone, “and be done with it.”
To his credit, Xiao barely even winced while the bolt was being pulled out from the wing muscle. Even when Lumine had to push a barbed arrowhead entirely through the flesh to remove the bolt from both ends, his expression was almost bored. In truth, he seemed more sensitive to Lumine’s gentle touches than anything else; when she stroked his feathers soothingly after she patched the wound with more medicine, his wing quivered and his body jolted with even the slightest brush of her fingers.
He’s so used to pain, but not to pleasure, she suddenly realized. The thought made her indescribably sad.
She finally made her way to the last crossbow bolt, yanking it out and smearing the open wound with the paste. “It’s done, Xiao,” she said after tossing the discarded bloodied bolts to the ground. “You did well.”
“Hmph. It’s nothing.” He folded his wing, and one curtain of the overhead canopy disappeared to let the sunlight in, bathing the side of his face with light. Lumine couldn’t help but stare. He looked like a fallen angel, freshly cast from heaven, blood and dirt and tattered wings only emphasizing his otherworldly beauty.
Xiao’s gold eyes flickered up to meet hers, then darted away just as quickly as he coughed in poorly disguised embarrassment. “You… seemed to like touching them,” he noted, glancing back at his wings.
Lumine nodded shyly. “It’s… you’re… very soft. I’ve always loved birds. But I’ve never really had a chance to pet one before.”
Xiao snorted. “Petting an adeptus? Your impudence truly knows no bounds,” he scolded.
“S-sorry,” she squeaked, ears turning red. “I didn’t mean to…”
“... Hm. It’s fine,” Xiao said, his demeanor softening. “If you really want to feel them… I can make an exception this once. Best not to try it with the other adepti, though.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
With Xiao’s permission, Lumine began to stroke his feathers in earnest. There were more textures than she’d expected; some of his feathers were downy soft, while others were firm and glossy, the individual barbs stiff, like running her fingers over a comb. The smallest ones near his wingpit were no bigger than her pinky, but the larger primary feathers near the ends of his wings were wider than her arms.
Every so often she would look down, and her entire body would heat up at the sight of Xiao squirming and twisting underneath her touch, his erection clear to see even through the fabric of his pants. Stop looking, you idiot, she berated herself. It’s just a reaction. He doesn’t think of you like that.
“So… is the medicine working?” Lumine asked, desperate to break the awkward silence that hung in the air. “You’re not in pain, are you?”
“I’m not,” he replied, though his raspy growl suggested otherwise.
“Don’t lie to me now.”
“I'm not lying. Remedium Tertiorum is fast-acting. But your touch also helps.” Xiao shivered as Lumine traced over the wrist of his sprained wing. “I don’t know why, but… it’s soothing. Like you’re quieting the pain.”
“Is there anything else I can do to help?”
He surveyed his wing with a critical eye. “If you’re not opposed… you can help remove any bent or loose feathers you see.”
Lumine winced. “But won’t that hurt?”
“Hardly. Better now than dealing with them later. I’d have to transform back to preen them properly.”
“Okay,” Lumine said reluctantly. “But please tell me if you need a break.”
Of course, he didn’t need one. Xiao barely even cringed when Lumine sorted through his battered feathers, brushing them out and straightening the sheaths, occasionally plucking ones that looked unsalvageable. Emerald and teal and gold scattered to the ground in drifts.
Once she was done, she sat down beside Xiao, her own muscles tight with anxiety. “I think… I think it’s good,” she panted, wiping sweat from her brow. “Or at least it looks okay to me.”
Xiao didn’t say anything. His breathing was labored. Lumine looked askance at him, but she immediately froze in surprise when she saw his face. His eyes were glazed and half-closed, cheeks flushed with red; his mouth hung slightly as he panted. Her gaze flickered down to confirm her suspicions— his erection was still straining against his pants, but a blotch of dark purple marked where he’d already stained the fabric. She felt her own core throb in sympathy as she traced the outline with her eyes. If he was hurting this badly…
“Xiao,” she breathed, the words tumbling from her mouth before she could rein them back in. “I can…” Lumine gulped. “I can help with… that, too. If you’re willing.” Her eyes flickered down to his crotch, the barest hint of her desire, before glancing back to gauge his reaction.
Xiao started. He turned his gaze to meet hers. Though his expression was still strained, a mixture of confusion and surprise swirled within his golden irises. “You’d help me…” His eyes widened in realization. “No, no. You can’t.”
Lumine flushed. Of course he wouldn’t. It stung to be rejected, but she took it with grace. “I’m sorry. I was presumptuous—”
“— I’d sully you. I can’t let you do that for me.”
They paused, each trying to make sense of what the other said.
“Sully me? What do you mean?”
“My karmic debt… it would… taint you, for lack of a better word. You’ve seen how wandering spirits flee from my touch. The stench of evil is so strong upon me that most living beings instinctually flee from it.”
Lumine had to disagree. Though Pervases had been able to sense Xiao’s aura, she wasn’t so sure that the ability to detect it transferred to non-adepti. To her untrained nose, Xiao smelled like fresh air and fragrant flowers, cedarwood and orange blossom and amber. Scents of a spring breeze, still carrying tinges of the harsh winter, yet budding with freshness and life and hope. “I’ve stayed by your side for this long without any side effects,” she said.
“Even so, the risk is too great. I won’t suffer anyone else having to shoulder this burden. Especially not you. It should be mine alone to bear. Besides,” Xiao muttered, turning away with reddening ears, “it’s hardly proper for you to do such a thing. Especially if it’s just out of pity. I may be far from human, but even I understand what shame is. I’ve already humiliated myself enough.”
Lumine hesitated; took a deep breath. “Xiao, I told you I’m not worried about your karma affecting me,” she said slowly. “You know I’m stronger than that. And… I’m not offering just because I want to help you.”
Xiao scoffed. “Of course you are. It’s your nature to offer help to anyone. At least I can infer when your kindness is—”
He stopped short when he turned back to see her gazing at him intently. His stomach did a flip, then another, then another with each pulse of blood that thrummed in his ears. With how earnestly she was gazing at him, with so much want in her eyes… was it really possible?
“You can’t be serious,” he croaked.
“I won’t do it if you don’t want me to.”
“I—” Xiao bit his lip, heat flooding his cheeks as his shyness resurfaced. “… I do want it,” he mumbled, barely audible, his gaze directed at a particularly interesting pebble on the ground to avoid looking at her.
Lumine felt a thrill surge through her. “Really? Not just because… I touched you?”
Xiao laughed mirthlessly. “I wouldn’t be fool enough to cave in to these desires had you not worn me down with your ministrations.”
“So anyone could get you like this?” asked Lumine, upset.
Xiao’s eyes flicked to meet hers. “Only Rex Lapis and a few adepti,” he said quietly, “have seen my true form and lived to tell the tale. I would not invite just anyone to help me, much less trust them to tend to my injuries.”
It was a step in the right direction, at least, Lumine thought to herself. But maybe she could coax him into admitting more. “Can I… touch your wings more?” she asked tentatively, an idea brewing in her mind.
Xiao’s eyes fluttered closed. “If you insist.”
“Then,” said Lumine, “can you also tell me what it feels like when I do… this?” She glided her fingers along the underside of his wing, each feather as wide as her hand, and this time Xiao let out a moan that sent Lumine’s heart to pounding.
“F-feels… like the area… near there,” Xiao choked out, gesturing vaguely at his groin. “S-sensitive… like you’re stimulating the nerves directly…”
“I see,” she murmured. “Here?” She fanned out his primary feathers, spreading them apart with her thumb.
“More bearable,” said Xiao through gritted teeth. “Still ticklish. Especially at the base.”
“And here?” Lumine asked, her hand moving up to stroke the downy coverts of his wing, near his armpit. She yelped as Xiao grabbed her by the wrist, his fingers tight as a vise around her arm.
“Don’t tease,” he begged. “I’m too close…”
“What if I keep moving?” she whispered, a smile raising the corners of her lips. This was a new side of Xiao, shy and pliant and needy, and Lumine wanted to see how far she could go. Her fingers played with the base of his feathers, stroking the shafts lovingly, and Xiao spasmed against her, a choked gasp bursting from his throat.
“I’ll… ngh! Lumine, Lumine, I—”
Lumine bit her lip as she watched him come apart, muscles jerking, teeth gritted tightly together as he came in his pants once more. His usual stoic and stern demeanor had crumbled apart with a simple stroke of her fingers, and she found she liked seeing him shudder and moan in pleasure by her touch. It made her feel powerful. It made her feel desired. And to be desired by Xiao, of all people…
“That must be uncomfortable,” she husked, one hand trailing down his shirt until she was palming at the wetness staining his crotch. “How many times now did you come just from me touching your wings? Twice? Three times?”
Xiao glared at her, wounded pride blazing in his eyes. “You insolent—”
“I’m only asking because I want to know how much I’ll have to clean up,” said Lumine swiftly, cutting him off. With deft fingers, she undid his belt and slipped off his pants and underwear, letting out a low whistle of appreciation as his cock sprang out, red and throbbing and still painfully hard.
His shaft was absolutely coated with his seed, glistening and white, trickling slowly down the sides.
“There’s so much,” Lumine murmured, kneeling before him. The smell of Xiao’s cum made her dizzy; it was strong and musky and sweet, and the thought of tasting it made her drool in anticipation.
“What are you doing?” Xiao breathed in amazement, not believing what was going on: Lumine, on her knees in front of him, with a look in her innocent honey-gold eyes that betrayed a lust he’d never seen before—
—and he gasped as he felt heat and wetness engulf his cock, Lumine’s tongue dragging along his length, lapping up the remains of his pleasure. She worked her mouth up and down his length, slowly, slowly, coating every inch of him with her saliva until Xiao could no longer tell what was spit and what was his seed.
Lumine was cleaning him with her mouth, and Xiao couldn’t even find the words to describe how absolutely filthy this was, how depraved, and worst of all, how much he loved it. Every so often she would ease off, swirling her tongue around his tip before diving back down again. And seeing her swallow, her throat bobbing as she gulped down his cum, was so devastatingly erotic that he nearly burst in her mouth right then.
Lumine glanced up at him, her lovely tawny eyes framed with gold lashes, her lips still fitted tightly around his length. “Mmph— do you— lok ith, Thiao?” she asked, words muffled by the cock in her mouth.
Unable to bear it any longer, Xiao jerked back and pushed her head away with his palm, heart drumming a frantic beat against his ribs. “This is… it’s obscene,” Xiao choked out. “You can’t… we shouldn’t…”
Lumine peered up at him innocently, wiping away the glistening saliva coating her lips. “Sorry, was that too much? I was asking if you liked it.”
“If I’d known you were going to do that…”
“I know. That’s why I went in instead.” She grasped his cock in one hand, pumping it experimentally. “I wish you’d be selfish sometimes, Xiao. I like it when you ask me to do things for you.”
And before he could reply, she took him in her mouth again, still stroking him with one hand. Xiao was paralyzed by pleasure, hands gripping the edges of the stone bench, the heavenly sensation of her mouth and her fingers making his brain short-circuit. All he knew was that he had to hold back— his remaining shred of chivalry screamed that he mustn’t come down her throat; he had to make her stop so he could at least finish on the ground. But she’s the one who started this, another voice reasoned inside of him; she’s the one who was so eager to swallow your seed…
He tried to say something, anything, but all that issued from his throat was a broken moan of ecstasy. It was simply too good; she felt too good for him to focus on anything else. All the blood from his brain had rushed to his cock instead; that must be why his thoughts were coming so slowly and stupidly, why his head was swimming, why he couldn’t stop himself from sinking deeper and deeper into the velvet warmth and bliss of her mouth…
Lumine could feel his cock twitching against the roof of her mouth, his back arching as she swirled her tongue around him. She winced as he began to buck his hips unconsciously, the sensation of his cock hitting the back of her throat threatening to make her gag. He’s close, she realized, and the thought made her wild with excitement, enough to overpower the discomfort from being deepthroated.
She took his hand, squeezing it lightly, guiding it to the top of her head and threading her locks between his fingers— and this time Xiao didn’t protest, gripping onto her hair and coaxing her head up and down his shaft. His moans came faster and harder as Lumine quickened her pace. “Ah, ah, Lumine,” he gasped. “Too good— I’m gonna, I’m gonna—”
Do it, she wanted to say, but all that came out was a muffled sob of pleasure, her mouth stuffed too full of dick to make any intelligible sound. His grip on her hair tightened; he slammed his cock into her mouth, over and over and over—
— and with one last thrust into her mouth, he burst inside her, groaning as he spilled his load over her eager tongue. Lumine whimpered as she felt his seed filling her mouth with every pulse of his cock; she held off from swallowing and instead worked her tongue around his tip to coax out every last drop. When he gave a shudder of overstimulation, she reluctantly eased off with a wet pop, savoring the taste of his cum in her mouth before she gulped it down, licking her lips for good measure.
“Lewd,” Xiao choked out, tears pricking at his eyes as warmth and relief surged through his body.
She laughed. “Was it good?” she asked breathlessly, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.
Xiao pressed the back of his hand to his eyes, too embarrassed to look directly at her. “Please… I… I need a moment.” Just to make sure it wasn’t all some lascivious dream his pain-addled mind had made up.
… But when he opened his eyes again, she was still there, a cheeky little smile on her lips as she gazed up at him from between his knees.
“Get up,” he growled, pulling her up roughly by her arm. “I… I can’t believe you would willingly debase yourself like that.”
“Huh. I don’t even get a ‘thank you?’” she teased. “Seriously, Xiao, I wanted to do it. I liked it. I don’t think it’s shameful, so why should you?”
“I didn’t want the first time with y—” Xiao started, before snapping his mouth shut and turning away, hastily tugging his pants back up. I didn’t want the first time with you to be like this. So messy and selfish and impulsive and unromantic…
But he kept his thoughts to himself. “Thank you,” he muttered, his voice low and begrudging.
Lumine grinned. “That’s more like it. Ah,” she gasped, pointing behind his back, “your wings…”
Before her eyes, Xiao’s feathers crumbled away from wingtip to shoulder, leaving behind only smooth skin and the smell of crushed qingxin petals on the wind.
“Better?” she asked.
“Hm.” He rolled his shoulders, testing out his muscles. He took up his spear, which had been lying by the bench, and tried a few practice swings. “Passable.”
Lumine was aghast. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on going back to work so soon after your injury.”
“It’s nothing,” said Xiao, setting his weapon down. “I’ve been through worse. And without anyone to take care of me, either.”
Lumine felt a pang in her heart at his words so casually delivered. “You should rest, Xiao. What if you come across enemies as powerful as the ones you just faced? You won’t be able to fight them off…”
Xiao’s eyes softened. “Are you worried about me? Don’t be. I’ll simply be keeping guard at Wangshu Inn, as I always do.”
“Do you need help getting back?”
“No need. I still have enough energy to perform my adeptal arts.” He stood up, brushing the dust off his pants. “I’m sorry to have taken up your time, Trav— L-Lumine,” he mumbled. “I… I don’t know how to repay you. If there is any request you have of me, I will do all that is within my power to grant it.”
“You don’t have to repay me,” she reassured him. “I’m just glad you’re okay now. Though I will consider your offer, if that makes you feel better.”
Xiao nodded. “Then I will await your answer.” He looked up at the sky, sighing. “It is… peaceful up here. I will stay a while longer before I depart.”
That’s my cue to leave him alone. Lumine got to her feet reluctantly. “Bye, Xiao.”
Just as she was turning to leave, Xiao spoke up again. “Lumine.”
She cocked her head. “Yes?”
“I mean it. If you have need of me… for anything at all… don’t hesitate to call my name.”
She smiled. “I will. Thank you.”
“Mm.”
She was a good distance away, at a turn in the mountain path, before she found the courage to say what was in her heart.
“Xiao… I liked it. When you called for me too.”
Before he could respond, she turned the corner and walked away, feeling heat pooling in her face.
Let him puzzle out what she meant by that on his own, she thought. For now, though, she had plans to attend to. One of which involved cooking as many Almond Tofu dishes she could carry.