𝗜 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗚𝗢 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 ✦ 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸

"You're way stronger than you think. Start believing it and training will be easier!"

"Eep!"

Y/n briefly flinched when the apple that sat atop her head was pierced by an arrow. However, the apple did not budge.

Her eyes met unamused turquoise ones as the girl who had shot the arrow began to take out another.

"Y-You almost killed me!" y/n cried.

"You don't have to worry, y/n!" the man hummed as he loaded another arrow, "I never miss. Just stay still."

He aimed to shoot again and y/n tensed, eyes wide. She cringed at the familiar whizz of an arrow but it never hit its mark.

"Stop playing around like that. One of these days, you're going to hit her in the eye!" an old man scolded, brows furrowed before he glanced at y/n with a, "And you, y/n! Don't just stand there and take it!"

The old man took the apple off her head and looked her over in concern, "You weren't hurt, were you?"

'He caught it... HE CAUGHT IT!!!' y/n internally screamed, 'OH MY ARCHONS, HE ACTUALLY CAUGHT IT!!!'

Her eyes welled up with tears and she began to weep, shedding a literal waterfall of tears and wailing.

"GRAMPS, I WAS SO SCARED!!!"

As she was crying, the old man trying to calm her, the one who fired the arrow heaved a sigh and crossed his arms.

"You shouldn't baby her, she's not going to learn anything if you're coddling her all the time." he murmured and jolted when he was struck over the head with the old man's cane, "Hey!"

They were both grabbed by the tops of their heads, cringing as the old man gave them both a glare.

"Enough of this foolishness from both of you, got it? Y/n," the old man glanced at her, "You're capable enough to advocate for yourself, so do it! And you," Gramps turned to the young man currently trying to escape the old man's grasp, "Wanting to make her tough is fine, but do it without actually firing arrows at her!"

As the scolding continued, y/n sheepishly glanced at the young man who'd also been subjected to the long stream of words. She grimaced when she saw the look of displeasure and looked away, earning a scoff from him.

•••

"My life is over... I'm done for..."

Y/n was facing a corner, refusing to look at Paimon, Aether or the ginger who had saved them from the Millelith before.

The trio were talking behind her but y/n was caught up in her own thoughts.

'And what would they say?' y/n wondered imagining the disappointment in the eyes of her friends and Gramps, 'They'd all be really upset with me if they found out. And the one who would be the most angry...'

She shuddered when an image of her pink haired friend popped into her mind, an ominous smile on his face and a look that promised pain in those turquoise eyes.

"Causing trouble, now are we?" he would say, "This won't go unpunished, y'know. Stay still and maybe I'll go easy on you."

'Aha... he's gonna kill me...' y/n thought wearily, a single tear rolling down her face from her left eye, 'At least I get to die at the hands of a handsome man like-'

"Y/n, right?"

"EEK! DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!" y/n snapped, whipping around to point at the person who had spoken her name but deadpanned, "O-Oh, it's you."

The ginger male laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "So you do remember me! That's a relief, for a second I believed you thought I was a complete stranger!"

Y/n deadpanned then frowned, "I mean, I've seen you with Mr. Zhongli but I have no idea who the heck you are, dude."

The two stared at each other for a minute.

"S-Seriously?"

"Yeah, I never caught your name." y/n replied then stood up straight, "Uhm... you're affiliated with the Fatui, right?"

"Yep!" the ginger chirped then flinched in surprise when he saw the look on y/n's face, "What's that look for?"

She was glaring at him, her eyes narrowed and an irritated look on her face. However, the look quickly went away, "Ah, yeah, I remember now. Mr. Zhongli called you Childe I believe!"

"That's me!" Childe exclaimed, "You're Zhongli's assistant, aren't you? I also heard that you work for the Qixing. Working two jobs must be tiring!"

"I'm just a bit of an errand girl, that's all!" y/n laughed nervously, 'This guy is clearly bad news. Definitely. But... why do all the bad people have to be so hot-?'

"Y/n! Wonderful! You're awake!" Paimon exclaimed, floating on over, "You know your way around Liyue, right? You can take us to the adepti, can't you?"

"H-Huh!? What makes you think I'd help you guys?" y/n demanded, "You and the Traveler tried to kidnap me! And now the Millelith are after me too!"

"Aether." the blond corrected, annoyed.

"Aether, Traveler, whatever!" y/n snapped then turned her back to the three, crossing her arms, "I'm not helping you!"

...

Ha.

"You're not helping, huh? You said it yourself, the Millelith are after you too." Aether pointed out, leaning closer and promoting y/n to recoil, "If you decide to hang around here, you may be arrested and they might assume you were the one to kill Rex Lapis. Not to mention, you took out those Millelith with no mercy. Sounds like something a guilty person would do, don't you think?"

Horror slowly creeped onto y/n's face as Aether continued, her eyes wide with disbelief and fear, "I'm not familiar with Liyue, but they do have their laws. With the amount of importance their God of Contracts holds, I imagine you'd have quite the stack of charges should they decide to label you guilty. And imagine the jail time."

"Huh...?!"

Y/n had begun to shake as Aether leaned back with a thoughtful look, "Let's see... jail time for a god killer... oh! I've got it!"

"Considering you killed Liyue's previous Archon, I imagine they'd send you off too as a way to get back at you." Aether chimed and y/n gasped.

He turned away swiftly, shrugging, "Ah, not my problem. I'll be off chatting with the adepti, and you'll be charged with the murder of a god. Good luck!"

As Aether began walking off, Paimon nervously looked back and forth between him and y/n before rushing after her long haired travel companion.

"Aether, did you really mean all that?" she demanded in a hushed tone, "Shouldn't we help her if that's what's gonna happen to her? I mean, she helped us out a ton."

"If it happens, it happens." Aether hummed with a shrug, 'So? What'll it be, y/n?'

"UWAHHHH, TAKE ME WITH YOU!!!" y/n wailed as she began to sprint after the duo, causing a smirk to settle on Aether's face.

She skidded to a halt in front of him and bowed with a frantic, "I can take you to the adepti! I know my way around Liyue like the back of my hand! Please!"

"Oh really? It'll be a pleasure to have you, then."
Aether offered his hand to y/n with a smile.

She stared at him for a moment with teary eyes before taking it with a small nod and a wary look.

'Damn it, what have I gotten myself into?'