Ethereal [Rewrite] Venti x Reader

{} Prologue {}

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"Why did you stop playing? It was just getting to the good part!" A woman named Blanche bleated. She put her hands on her hips as she sighed in disappointment. The person's E/C eyes opened; their brows furrowed. Y/N huffed, turning their head to Blanche to see her face.

"I forgot the rest of the notes," They lied.

"Can I take a break?" pleaded Y/N, resting their hands on their lap. Staring at the woman with sadness in their eyes.

"Yeah, of course! You can take breaks anytime; I was just teasing you. By the way, a bard is by the statue today. You should go watch them play for motivation or something!" Blanche suggested.

Y/N took this as an opportunity to be free from playing piano and do something else that will fill their curious brain. they happily thanked her and grabbed their tiny wallet and quickly ran to the cement stairs. Clear blue skies were filled with fluffy white clouds. It was a perfect day in Mondstadt. A city of freedom and romance.

Crash!

Y/N fell. But they felt someone try to help them up. The H/C-haired person heard multiple sorries from someone, but their vision was a bit blurry. After a few seconds, they could see clearly now. A blonde girl with pigtails and bright blue eyes was the one who was apologizing a lot.

"Woah, it's okay Barbara. I was the one who crashed into you. Shouldn't I be the one apologizing to you first?" Questioned Y/N that was getting up.

"No, because I was in your way and I didn't know... Y/N, I'm so sorry!" Barbara apologized for the 50th time.

"I forgive you, now I need to go—!" Y/N really wanted to go see the bard play, they didn't want to be late or waste their time forgiving Barbara 100 times.

"Where are you going?" The blonde girl asked.

Y/N explained, "I'm going to watch the bard play their songs. In hopes of getting motivation or inspiration from it...or getting the freedom to be away from playing the piano for a while..." They added at the end.

Barbara chuckled, "Hehe, I sort of lied to the sisters about gathering herbs to heal a hamster I found in the forest. But really, I wanted to take a break from singing today and watch the bard play their songs. Besides, I don't think hamsters exist in Teyvat."

"Real sly of you, Barbara. I never thought you would do such a thing!" Y/N said sarcastically.    

Barbara laughed as they talked to each other while going up the cement stairs that would lead them to the statue that was in the middle of the Cathedral. As they walked up the stairs, they saw a crowd from afar that was near the Barbatos Statue. That's where the bard is probably at... Y/N thought to themselves. They soon caught themselves running and dragging Barbara along to the people. Melodies were in the air as the pianist was walking toward the crowd. Enjoyed the music as they relaxed once they were there, standing in the group of people with Barbara. Y/N couldn't see the bard's face because the crowd was blocking their view, they only saw their hat.

The bard stopped playing the lyre, took a deep breath, and spoke, "This next poem is a poem I've been working on. It's still not finished yet, but I managed to add more words to it the last time I was here. I gotta use my brain to finish it quickly, no?"

The crowd laughed, except for Y/N who was behind a person.

"Welp, here we go." The bard relaxed his shoulders, strumming his lyre as he calmly spoke out to the people.

Who was it that stroked your bloodied, determined visage?

By stream flowing small.

By boulder standing large.

Who was it that embraced your weary yet noble soul?

In dreams deep,

In skies soaring.

Dear friend,

I am leading you by the hand...

Into the night where lanterns shine bright.

"As I said, it's not finished yet. Come here again in a few days for the last line to come!" He giggled. The crowd clapped for his performance.

"Thank you! Thank you! Eheh, please deposit your mora into this beret!" The bard winked, as he removed the hat from the top of his head and held it in front of the crowd. Y/N thought there was about 1000 mora there, not a lot. They can't complain though. They only get 700 mora for the whole day they're playing.

"I suppose it's my time to go now. I must head off. To do... something-! See you soon!" He put the mora in his pockets and put his beret on his head. Then, the bard bowed down and runs off somewhere in the city. The crowd part their ways and Barbara and Y/N are the only people there.

Barbara, who stood in front of Y/N, laughed, "He's an interesting person. He usually comes here every two days or more, but I'm not sure what he does in his leisure time. So, he's quite a mysterious bard if you ask me."    

"He sounds like a person who would steal stuff, most likely selfish too. I wouldn't be his friend at all..." Y/N commented.    

Barbara gasped and shook her head. Crossing her arms as her brows furrowed, "Is that really your first impression of him? That's a bit cruel, don't you think?"    

Y/N realizes what they had said and gulped. They apologized, "So-Sorry...I should really think before I speak next time. Please forgive me."

Barbara sighed and dropped her arms beside her, "It's okay," she added, "he's actually a good person if you talk to him. Believe me, he is very nice! It might change your first impressions of him once you meet him in person."

Y/N nodded, "uh, okay... well I'm off. See you tomorrow, Barbara, it was nice seeing you."

"It was nice seeing you too Y/N! Let's drink my Homemade Chili brew sometime!" Barbara chirped and waved goodbye. Y/N waved goodbye to her back and walk downstairs.    

The H/C-haired person heard loud chattering at the end of the stairway that was beside Goth Hotel, so they eavesdropped to see what was going on. They hid behind the stone fence and looked down to see the same bard that was performing before and the tavern owner fighting. Then, the bard ran away with the wine from the redhead man. The redhead man grunted and walked off angrily; they knew the bard was suspicious. 3 minutes pass by and they arrived at the Mondstadt General Goods, the pianist sighed and leaned against the sturdy, brown counter.

"Hey Y/N, how was the bard's performance? Did you have a fun time, or did you get inspired by them?" the shopkeeper asked Y/N, as she went under the counter to get a basket.

"He played very well, but he's a suspicious guy. I saw him steal a bottle of wine from the tavern owner." the pianist answered, grabbing the last apple from the crate and rubbing it with their sleeve to make it shiny. Then they placed the apple back into the crate.

"Hup!" She placed the basket on the counter, "Is that so? Huh, he is indeed a weird guy. Anyways, can you do a favour for me?" Blanche asked.

"Hm?" Y/N looked at her and raised a brow.

"Can you get apples from the Whispering Woods for me? Looks like we're running out of them," Blanche the shopkeeper sighed, "I'll make sure to pay you back so you can buy something for yourself."

"Sure! You can count on me, Blanche." Y/N said proudly, taking the empty basket from the counter and holding it tight.

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