I'll Be Here

Changes

Dawn had just barely touched the horizon when Xiao returned to Wangshu Inn, teleporting mostly effortlessly, blinking his eyes open with a soft exhale.

"Good morning." Zhongli was waiting for him on the balcony.

Xiao jumped back, fingers twitching for his spear. "Oh! Good morning, my Lord." He spread his hand open wide at his side. "I wasn't expecting you. Am I late for something?"

"Not at all." Zhongli moved to sit on the roof tiles and started to prepare a pot of mint tea on a tray that he must have brought. He was probably the only being in existence that could make tea on an unsteady rooftop seem so graceful. "I just decided to meet you early here. I apologize for startling you."

"It's nothing." He sat down, less gracefully, and folded his legs under himself. "Did something happen at Mount Aocang?"

"Mmm... Not in particular. Do you know Shenhe?"

Xiao thought for a moment. "I've heard the name. I don't remember a face or interaction."

Zhongli nodded. "She's Cloud Retainer's human apprentice, and she's recently been trying to exit the adept realms and reconnect to human life. You may have met her once or twice, but we have no real connection to her, and she has no knowledge of my identity. I figured that you would rather meet with me here than risk the pressure of meeting and remembering another face."

Ah. "I appreciate that."

Zhongli's amber eyes flickered, and he looked sideways at Xiao. "Why do you ask? Is it a bad time? Are you expecting someone?"

"No. I always have time for you." Xiao inhaled deeply; the smell of mint, sweet and clean and refreshing, cooled the space behind his temples. "Thank you for the tea."

"Of course."

Zhongli held out a china cup, and Xiao accepted it with both hands. The liquid was pleasantly warm and left a cool tingle on Xiao's tongue when he sipped it. His grimmer thoughts from the hours before seemed less serious in the easy presence of Zhongli.

"Are you doing alright?" Zhongli asked, the way he had for centuries.

"I'm surviving," Xiao answered, the way he had for centuries.

"Just surviving?" Zhongli pressed, raising his eyebrows as he lowered his teacup. "What have you been up to?"

"Mmmm..." He actually had an adventure worth sharing about. It had been a long time. "Last night, Lumine and I delivered consequences to a human masquerading as an adeptus."

Zhongli's eyes widened at "Lumine" and narrowed at "human." He took another sip of tea before responding, slowly. "Interesting. How... How did you go about doing that?"

Oh.

Shit.

The words Dream Trawler froze in Xiao's throat.

"Did you summon a human shade?" Zhongli asked lightly.

Xiao coughed. "Yes, but I didn't eat his dreams. Really."

"That's good to hear!" Zhongli picked up the teapot and refilled Xiao's cup. "Did you perform the ritual in front of Lumine?"

"No, Lumine actually did it herself."

Zhongli's hand froze in the air, and he stared at Xiao. "She did?"

"Yes!"

There was something strangely satisfying about surprising Zhongli like this. Xiao had never seen his archon react like this on behalf of a human.