Shadows Amidst Aember (Aether x Amber)

Painting Lessons

A few days had passed since the events of Dragonspire, or as Aether likes to remember it, "Miracle Monday'' as it was the day a true miracle had been bestowed upon him. And that miracle's name was Amber, a cute, energetic and loveable soul who took up the position of Outrider to help the people of Monstadt. The two shared a strong attraction towards each other for the longest time, but only began officially dating shortly after the whole winter training fiasco. The few days they had been dating were actually some of the best of Aether's life, just being with her lifted his spirit, he felt such joy around her that he hadn't felt in a long long time. Not to say Aether was miserable beforehand, but she perfectly filled in the void that Lumine had left behind, a strong woman that was always there for him. Paimon was great and all but he always saw her as more of a close friend, while Amber was so, so much more than that. She had always been there for him even before they started dating; her decision to print out missing person posters and hang them all around Monstadt was still the single greatest act of kindness anyone had ever shown him in Teyvat. So you can tell how excited he was when Amber agreed to be his girlfriend, a true dream come true.

They did the usual couple stuff, holding hands, cuddling, eating meals together etc. Aether liked to believe he was doing a good job at the whole "boyfriend" thing, and he wasn't wrong in thinking so. He did whatever he could to make Amber feel appreciated, buying her gifts, cooking her meals, spoiling her with kisses and overall making her worth to him known. In the first 4 days of them dating he had already given her 7 gifts, cooked her 16 meals, and planted about 12 dozen kisses on her face. Most would call it overkill but he couldn't help it, he just loved her too much.

This is probably why he asked her to move in with him in his teapot. He hadn't told anybody about it apart from Ganyu and a few others, but he trusted Amber enough to let her know. He still remembered the shocked look on her face when she first told her, she obviously didn't believe him until he showed her the magical teapot. Apart from some nice furniture and architecture added by Ganyu, his house was quite bare. He gave Amber permission to design the interior anyway she wanted in an attempt to make the place more lively. He expected her to take a few days to fully warm up to the place, but she had already moved all her furniture and possessions from her old home to his in just two days. It was awkward sharing a bed together, they had done it once before, but now they were alone. The awkwardness lingered for a night or two but they quickly got over it. Instead they embraced each other, cuddling in their classic intertwined position every single night. They spent most of the day together, apart from a few times where Amber would sneak off without explanation.

So where were the two lovebirds right now? Perched on top of a hilitural camp. Yeah, Aether still had to make up for all the daily commissions he had missed last time, his new girlfriend had been occupying most of his time. He tried to convince her to let him take care of this on his own, but she insisted on joining him, claiming it would be "fun." Not being able to reject those adorable puppy eyes he eventually caved in, reminding her to be safe and always stay close to him.

They quickly examined the area, locking on to the two snipering hilitural that laid atop towers. They quickly nodded in agreement before both pulling out their respective bows.

"Remember, just like I taught you." Both locked on to a hiliturals head, pulling back the string and preparing their shot. They had left Paimon with Albedo and Fel, so there was nobody to distract Aether this time. The tip of Amber's arrow ignited with Pyro, Aether's with Anemo. "On three, 1, 2, 3!" On cue they retracted their hands and fired the arrow, both landing a direct headshot. The hiliturals quietly crumbled into ash, not alerting the others. *Gasp* "You did it Aether! I'm so proud of y-mmh!" Aether quickly covered her mouth before pulling her into the bushes next to them. She let out a confused whimper before Aether shushed her. That's when Amber realized her complements had probably catched the hilitural's attention, oops. They remained hidden in the bushes for a while longer, making sure the hiliturals had lost interest. "Sowwy..." Amber whispered once the coast was clear.