Freedom

Part 4

Chapter 4:

Xiao's staring at you, waiting for answers and it's doing funny things to your heart. If you were still hooked up to one of those machines back in the hospital, a doctor would have been notified of the irregularities.

"I would love to answer you but I'm gonna need you to specify a little more." You state, wincing as Aether wraps bandages around your wound.

He offers you a small smile as apology before continuing with his work.

"Call for my help." Xiao replies easily, though his gaze doesn't shift from you and you don't know if you particularly like being scrutinized like this.

It feels like when the new doctors would come in and ask you the same stupid questions.

"Uh. I opened my mouth?"

You're being cheeky and the Yaksha does not appreciate it. If you're being quite honest, you're running on no sleep, adrenaline from a scuffle with an abyss mage, and a smidgen of fear. You don't have it in you to feel guilty when he narrows his eyes at you.

"You shouldn't be able to do that." He then supplies, causing you to roll your eyes.

"While I'm glad I was an abnormality otherwise I'd be rather crispy right about now." You reply, raising a brow as Paimon tries to hide her laughter.

You're being rude. Rude to Xiao. Why? He doesn't deserve that. He's curious why you're calling on the power of the Vigilante Yaksha for a mere abyss mage. He doesn't voice these types of thoughts however, but in hindsight, he doesn't really need to with the way his lips turn down and his eyes bore into you. Those bright yellow hues shift from your face to fall towards your hip. At first you're caught off by the movement, but you then remember that your vision is clipped to your hip. Your cheeks burn in mortification as you shake your head to get rid of the horrendous thoughts you had been having.

"Why summon me when you have the power to dispatch it yourself?"

A valid question, though it's embarrassing to answer. You turn away from his gaze, embarrassment egging on the flames in your cheeks.

"She's only received it a couple weeks ago. She's still trying to figure it out."

Aether explains the situation easily enough while Xiao crossed his arms over his chest. He's contemplating you but also doesn't want to disregard the traveler's words. Ship wars aside, Aether (or Lumine depending on the player) was someone Xiao trusted. You hoped it was enough for him to stop looking... through you. It brought up bad memories.

"Alright." You let out a sigh. "Sorry for calling out to you. It was my first time coming face to face with an abyss mage and I panicked." You divulged. "I probably should not have called out to a Yaksha for a mere abyss mage. In hindsight, you did save my life, so thank you." You gave a little head bow, hoping that it was customary enough. "To make up for my idiocy, I'll offer you this," you hold up your pointer finger with a small smile. "After I've slept a couple of hours, cause I'm super exhausted after having run around like a chicken with my head lopped off, I'll bring you a serving of almond tofu. That sound good?"

Xiao's eyes widen a fraction, and even Paimon lets out a noise indicating she's surprised. Only Aether has a warm smile in place and doesn't seemed shocked that you're acutely aware of the adeptus' favorite food.

"What's a chicken?..." Paimon murmurs from behind you.

"I think that's a fair trade. What do you think, Xiao?" The blonde asks, keeping his easy smile.

Bless his heart for real. What would you do without Aether to keep things rolling?

"Fine."

And with that, the Yaksha disappears. You let out a loud groan that had the blonde chuckling at your dispense.