In The Midst of Snow

How To Doctor 101

At Gold's pesky insistence, Xiao and Lumine unwillingly followed Gold to his laboratory. Aether, who still hadn't woken up, was carried on Xiao's back. Lumine had glanced at Xiao several times in case he found her brother heavy, but apparently for Xiao, Aether weighed nothing more than a sack of feathers.

Seems like there really was nothing much to worry about Xiao.

When she heard that Xiao was dating her brother (who was supposed to be in the meteor?), she had trouble absorbing that fact. But now that she had seen how protective and caring Xiao was of Aether and how Xiao always stood by Aether's side, it appeared she had underestimated how deep their relationship was.

Although her brain still fizzes out when she tries to understand why the hell would her brother be here, looking older and in a weird albeit glamorous garment in Teyvat. It didn't seem like he had just woken up, too; he clearly had been in this world for some time, this being proved by his knowledge and understanding of this world that he had demonstrated earlier.

For now, she'll try not to think too deep about it. Because first of all, it was pointless no matter how she got about it. Secondly, this Gold guy was giving off ultra mega terrible vibes.

Even more eerie that his laboratory was located underneath the palace. It was a big no-no area where the bad things lie or secrets that are not to be revealed are stored.

Either this guy was an evil mastermind of a dreadful plot or he was purely insane.

Maybe both.

Now, as Xiao and Lumine stood in front of a pair of chipped wooden doors, Gold put a finger on his lips and winked.

"Keep quiet, there's a big boy inside there you don't want to wake," Gold teased.

Lumine had barely any time to process what 'big boy' could mean when the doors were slammed open, Gold screeching at the top of his lungs, "Daddy's back!"

On second thought, no amount of brain cells would have equated 'big boy' with a giant, black skeletal dragon. Actually, giant wasn't enough to even describe it. With Gold's lab being a massive, natural cave, the dragon had occupied about half of the space just by being curled up.

On a bed of spiky transparent crystals, the dragon huffed, smoke coming out of its slitted nostrils. It curled up even more, shielding its face with leathery wings.

"Sorry, Durin is a little sensitive to newcomers," Gold explained.

Since the dragon was currently unmoving, Lumine got to observe the laboratory better.

Lining the somewhat circular lab were a row of torches hanging on the walls, washing the entire place a freakish green. Along the walls, there were funny looking machines, cages with weird creatures and tables brimming with papers, books, materials and potions. In the centre, there was a clear lake, its smooth surface reflecting the green glow of the torches. And of course, at the very back was Durin the sleeping dragon.

Moreover, the laboratory was superbly messy, as if things were only put where they were because there was space and it was easy to reach. Lumine only took a step inside and painfully hit her knee on an orange orb.

"Hey! Be careful, will you?" Gold exclaimed, hurrying to stop the orange orb from rolling away. "That's a Field Tiller's eye - you don't want that to explode now, do you?"

"Why did you bring us here?" Xiao demanded coldly.

"That's because I want to extend a kind helping hand to your dying friend over there!"

With his chin, he pointed at Aether. Xiao immediately leaped back, putting a good distance between them.

"And how do you intend to help?" Xiao questioned flatly.