Spying on the Wind | Venti♡Reader

💫𝔽𝕆𝕌ℝ💫

Venti's POV:

"Yes! I've been looking for these. Flora will be elated!" I gushed, holding the delicate flowers gratefully.

The selfless girl shrugged and gave me a warm smile. She had handed the flowers to me even though she could have sold them for a fortune. Thinking ahead, she gave me a soft lilac box to store the flowers ephemerally. Originally, I had planned to fit all the flowers into my pocket, where they would probably be squished beyond recognition by the time I reached the city. I chuckled at my stupidity.

A loud crash jolted me from my thoughts. Shoving the precious box of flowers into my leather backpack, I spun around just in time for seven gigantic rusty missiles to hit my pretty face. "Ruin Graders... One, two... uh... SIX?!" the girl shrieked. I vaguely heard her mutter to herself to calm down, but she seemed to have lost it after nearly getting hit once. It was rare to spot three or more Ruin Graders at once in the mountains, but six had made themselves show. Wait, I thought, scanning my surroundings. I cursed inwardly as soon as I espied two more Ruin Graders heading our way, along with a Ruin Hunter and three Ruin Guards.

"Take that, bitches!"

My attention was diverted to the kind girl, who landed swiftly on her feet after landing a fatal blow. Two Ruin Graders had been dealt with, and at least one looked half-destroyed after a hit from her alone.

Needless to say, the Ruin Graders were far from pleased. Astonished I may be, I was afraid the girl would make a foolish decision and land herself in hot soup.

"Ugh, I fight at least ten Ruin-related machines every day, but never this many at once!" the girl hissed and growled as the cursed machines cornered her. There was no time to dwell on what she mentioned. As powerful as she seemed to be, there was no escape route, and the Ruin Graders were milliseconds away from unleashing another attack on her fragile human body. No sign of fear or helplessness showed on her face, and her eyes seemed to depict a spark of contentment as her steady hands gripped her magnificent sword more tightly.

But a sword was hardly a good replacement for a shield.

Before I knew it, my arrows flew and struck the Ruin Graders with precise aiming. They were rendered "unconscious" and fell into a heap. Momentarily ignoring the Ruin Guards coming my way, I carried the girl to a safer location despite her struggles and protests. Though in an emergency, I did it bridal style with care, ensuring her comfort. A slight blush appeared on her rosy cheeks, but I had to tear my eyes away from her to focus on the more pressing matter before me.

Not a minute had passed before my arrows flew again, striking the machines' weakest areas. As the last one collapsed with a creak, we made a dash for it and paused to catch our breath after the last of them was out of sight. However, it seemed that fate had chosen to refuse us peace at that time. I espied Abyss Mages hiding near the lush rainforest at the exit of the cave. Did that make the cave a tunnel? A long one at that, too. I could've sworn we were in Dragonspine a few moments ago.

Brushing those thoughts aside, I sent numerous arrows flying through the air, each coated with immense elemental energy. We charged towards the ones advancing towards us and tore down their icy shields. Without a layer of protection, the Abyss Mages crumbled easily. With our agility and prowess, the Abyssal beings were soon defeated.

"I guess this is farewell," the girl's voice was soothing but showed no hints of emotion.

"Mhm, goodbye! Thanks for the flowers, by the way, I owe you one!" I declared cheerfully with a hint of relief.

"Farewell." The girl spun around gracefully on her high heels and hesitated for a moment as if she was thinking deeply about a sacred subject.

Before she departed, she whispered, "May the Anemo Archon bless you."