Chapter Text
The unofficial excursion team (the members of the storm terror mission who all function as unofficial knights) returned from a long day of hunting— having dealt with two separate ruins, four separate abyss mages, one ley line, and too many hilichurl camps to count.
They were requested by Jean to try and fast-track the process of getting Mondstadt cleared of monsters without needing to go through the procedures of the knights. Diluc was happy to see her defection, but Jean promptly reminded him that she was still acting Grand master of the Knights of Favonius.
The other three present were Lumine, Paimon, and Venti. Lumine was requested because of her skill and overall helpful nature, Paimon went with her as Paimon does, and Venti saw the group about to leave and tagged along out of sheer curiosity— much to Diluc’s dismay. He was helpful, though, especially in gathering up the enemies. So Diluc had very little room to complain.
It was around nightfall when the group arrived back at Mondstadt. Jean and Diluc were the first to reach The Angel’s share, waiting patiently while Lumine and Venti dragged themselves along. Paimon was thankful to get a piggy-back ride from Lumine— who, while exhausted, complied with the fairy’s request.
Lumine had never seen Venti exhausted in her life— he was always so energetic. So she assumed this was some way of showing solidarity, rather than actual exhaustion. She was proved right by how quickly he perked up upon seeing their meet-up location.
Jean took a small head count, making a vague motion to each person as she silently counted.
“Looks like we all got back in one piece,” she smiled, patting both Lumine and Venti on the head briefly. “Good job, you two. Because of you, Mondstadt is a little bit safer.”
“Hey! Paimon wants head pats too!” Paimon piped up, poking her head over Lumine’s shoulder. Jean chuckled a little.
“Of course.” She reached out and patted the fairy’s head as well.
“What about Master Diluc? No praise for him? No head pats?” Venti asked, teasingly. Although Diluc had his back to the group, unlocking the tavern, Lumine could tell he rolled his eyes.
“Master Diluc is already aware of his worth and contribution.” Jean reasoned. “As for the head pat… I think I’d like to keep my hand.” Both Lumine and Paimon giggled. Diluc let out a sigh, opening the door.
“Come on, you four.” He held the door open, motioning them inside. Paimon flew off of Lumine’s back, entering happily. Jean went next, thanking Diluc as she passed him. Then went Lumine, who did the same. And finally entered Venti, who paused in the doorway, reached out, patted Diluc’s head, and said,
“Thank you, Master Diluc~” Diluc made a grab for Venti’s wrist (most likely to bend it in a way it’s not supposed to bend) but Venti recoiled quickly, running inside and giggling along the way. Diluc followed slowly behind, closing the door. He let out an annoyed huff.
“Brat.” He said, mostly to himself.
Jean, with Paimon’s help, selected a table to sit at rather than at the bar stools. While it was meant to be a short, informal visit, she still thought it best to sit in a place where they could actually face each other. Nobody made any kind of protest, and Lumine was the first to select a seat, Paimon situating herself at the head of the table (to Lumine’s right), having to drag a chair over since they were one short.
“So,” Jean clapped her hands together. “To thank you for your help— both those who were requested to help and those who simply wandered into our mission— we’ll get one round on me.” Venti gasped.
“You. Are. A goddess!” He praised, taking the seat to Lumine’s left eagerly. Jean laughed a little, and Diluc rolled his eyes.
“That’s ironic coming from you.” Paimon said, unamused. Venti shot her a wink, letting out his signature giggle.
“Could you go get something for us to drink?” Jean asked, turning to Diluc. “I’m not picky about what it is.”
“Wine!!” Venti piped in.
“He’s not picky, either.” Jean brushed right past his comment.
“Hey!”
“Fine. Wine for the ladies— and Venti,” he spoke Venti’s name with disdain. “And grape juice for the young fairy and I.” Paimon huffed.
“Paimon isn’t as young as you think!” She said in an attempt to argue. Diluc raised an eyebrow at her, gaining a skeptical look. Paimon shrank in on herself, replying sheepishly.
“B-but grape juice will be fine, thank you.”
“Can I second that?” Lumine spoke up. “I’m not really in the mood for wine.”
“Of course.” Diluc replied.
“No fun!” Venti accused Lumine. “Are you ever going to drink?”
“I have before. You just weren’t there.” Venti let out a gasp of betrayal.
“You’ve been drinking without me?!” Paimon started laughing at the end of the table, and Diluc simply walked off to get what was asked of him.
“I’m sorry, it was Kaeya’s idea,” Lumine attempted to explain. “Plus, we weren't even in Mondstadt at the time.” Venti made a wounded noise, draping himself over the back of his seat like he’d been shot.
“Betrayal— Betrayal!”
“It was one time, Venti,“ Lumine reasoned. “We will get drinks sometime. But tonight, I just want to keep a clear head. Plus, someone has to carry you home when you get drunk— Diluc already has Jean covered, so I figured I’d spare him from dragging the both of you home.” Jean let out a startled squeak, not prepared to be dragged back into the conversation.
“I-I don’t get drunk—“ Jean protested. “I never drink that much!”
“Oh you most certainly do.” Diluc’s voice echoed out from the back room. Jean’s face flushed. Venti cackled.
“Ha! He sold you out!”
“I haven’t drank that much in a while .” Jean corrected. “And I won’t be doing so tonight.”
“No fuuuun!” Venti repeated, pointing at Jean this time.
The conversation spiraled into playful bickering between the table occupants. After the long day they had had, Lumine was happy that the group could speak so carelessly. Even Paimon was up and arms in the conversation—- while it wasn’t unusual for the fairy to be talkative, it was nice to see anyhow.
The conversation went on for a couple of minutes before Jean made an abrupt break from it, turning towards the back room and calling to Diluc.
“Make sure you come back at some point,” Jean teased at the longevity of Diluc’s departure. “We don’t want you lost like the Wandering wind.” There was something like a grunt that was offered in response, but Diluc still did not emerge. Venti perked up suddenly.
“The Wandering Wind?” He asked. “What’s that?” Lumine nodded in agreement with the question, also curious.
Jean looked between Venti and Lumine expectantly, as if it was some kind of joke. And then a realization hit her, and she became apologetic.
“Ah, umm—- the Wandering Wind is a story I was told often when I was a child. My sister recently reminded me of it, so I guess that’s why I made the reference.” Jean explained. “You haven’t heard of it, have you?”
Lumine, Venti, and Paimon all shook their heads in unison.
“I figured. It seems to be more of a family tradition than a general bedtime story. Sorry to confuse you.”
“Could you tell it?” Paimon requested. “Paimon loves stories!”
“Uhh, I don’t know if that’s a great idea,” Jean’s gaze singled in on Venti. “It’s a story having to do with Barbatos, and it’s probably made up.”
“Ooh! A story about me?” Venti sat up in his chair. “Tell it— tell it! It’s always fun to hear what stories the humans make up about me!”
Jean was taken aback at how adamant Venti was on hearing the story. But a smile quickly returned to her face.
“If you’re sure.” She said. “But let’s wait for Diluc first. I don’t want him to be left out.”
Diluc took another minute or so to return, having glasses already poured for each individual. Everyone thanked him as they received their drink, and Diluc took the seat to Jean’s left.
“I heard something about a story?” He prompted, expecting an explanation of some kind.
“Have you ever heard of the Wandering Wind?” Jean asked. Diluc shook his head.
“Then I guess this’ll be a new story for everyone.”
Jean cleared her throat, sitting up properly as she prepared to tell the story. Paimon, after chugging the entirety of her juice, floated over to Lumine’s lap, sitting down. Lumine made no protest, wrapping her arms around the small fairy as the two got comfortable. Diluc didn’t make any effort to settle in— he just looked mildly intrigued. Venti was nearly bouncing in his seat.
“A long time ago, in Mondstadt, a man was traveling through the wilderness just outside of town. It was never explained why he was out there, but along the way he caught a glimpse of a figure he was sure to be a god. My grandfather believed this happened under the large tree over by the Windrise statue, but we don’t know for sure.” Jean began. “As the man neared the figure, he noticed the figure had large, white wings. He knew right away that the being he saw was Barbatos.”
“That’s probably a lie— I don’t hardly have my wings out.” Venti piped in. Paimon punched his arm.
“Don’t interrupt!” She scolded him. “Continue, Jean.”
“Right. So the man started towards Barbatos with the intent of speaking with him and expressing gratitude to the archon of his home. But he never got that far.” Jean continued. “Just as he neared Barbatos, the man noticed something else—- a little girl.” Venti stilled any excited bouncing he was doing before.
“The man didn’t recognize the little girl, but she seemed to be affiliated with the god of freedom. Barbatos and the child looked nothing alike, aside from the same, free smile that they wore. They were talking about something— something which seemed to make them both happy. So the man did not intervene.” Jean said.
“A little girl? With Barbatos?” Paimon asked, to make sure she had heard it correctly.
“That’s right.” Jean confirmed. “But that’s not all she was.”
Lumine took a quick glance around the table to see if the others were just as interested in the story as she was. Diluc’s expression hadn’t changed much, which was expected. Paimon was excited, listening happily to what Jean had to say.
And then there was Venti.
Lumine assumed Venti would be chugging down his drink while having to sit through a probably butchered version of something he actually lived through. But as Jean spoke, Venti didn’t touch his glass. He even seemed… morbidly enthralled, slowly leaning forwards in his seat as if to somehow fall into the story by getting closer to its teller.
Lumine opened her mouth to try and grab Venti’s attention, but was cut off by Jean’s continuation of the story.
“Nobody really knows who that little girl was, but it’s said that she was a lost spirit who Barbatos set free—- for after that point, she was never seen again.” Jean explained. “That’s why she’s referred to as the Wandering Wind— she was lost until Barbatos found her.” Silence fell over the table as Jean stopped speaking. She took a moment to take a sip of her drink before offering an apologetic smile.
“I know. It’s not a very exciting story,” she admitted. “I guess the point of it was that Barbatos is a merciful god who helps free us— even those who are dead. It was reassuring to hear as a kid.” Silence lapsed a second time until Paimon began to clap.
“Good story!” She praised. “Paimon liked it!” Jean smiled.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Lumine, again, made a glance to her right. Venti seemed to be frozen— either lost in thought or petrified for one reason or another.
“Venti,” Lumine reached out to touch his arm when Venti suddenly surged forwards, placing his arms on the table with enough force to make a quiet ‘bang’.
“Where— where did you hear that?” He asked unnerved, borderline frantically . “Who told you that story??”
Jean was startled by the sudden change in Venti’s mood, but tried to answer as best she could.
“My grandfather told it to me. It’s been passed down through our family line.” Jean said, slightly alarmed. “Apparently an ancestor of mine was the one who saw the wandering wind and told the original story.”
“So is it true, then?” Diluc chimed in, not giving Venti enough time to properly digest the information Jean had given him. Lumine didn’t know if Diluc was aware of Venti’s current state or not— but either way he seemed adamant on getting an answer.
Venti was at a loss for words, his eyes looking helplessly between Jean and Diluc.
“I… I don’t-“ his gaze dropped to the table and his voice quieted. “I don’t know…”
“You don’t… know?” Paimon asked. Venti stood up suddenly, slamming his knees into the table and stumbling back. “I- I need some air—- just give me a second to think, and I’ll get back to you!”
“I’m sorry— I didn’t mean any harm by the story-“ Jean tried to apologize, also standing up.
“No— no harm done! I just— I’ll be back in a second, I promise!” Venti walked backwards a few steps before he flipped around, running to the door, throwing it open, and disappearing outside. The entire group watched as the door shut behind him, the slamming of the door echoing through the room.
Jean let out a sigh, sinking miserably back into her chair.
“This is all my fault— I knew telling the story was a bad idea,” she said. “He’s probably run off by now…”
“No he hasn’t.” Lumine said, motioning to Venti’s cup. “He hasn’t even touched his drink. He’ll be back, I’m sure of it.”
“So… what do we do?” Jean asked quietly.
“We give him some space— let him clear his thoughts.” Lumine answered, carefully removing Paimon from her lap and setting the fairy back into her own chair. “Do you have playing cards somewhere around here?”
“I should have some tucked away. Give me a moment.” Diluc stood up and disappeared again, returning moments later holding a deck of cards.
The group of four sat and played various card games as they waited. Diluc and Jean seemed to be having fun, both very competitive with each other. Paimon seemed confused, but she was enjoying herself as well.
Lumine was the only one who couldn’t really get into the game. The more time that ticked by, the more worried she became. Had Venti actually left? She’d hate for him to be wandering around in the state he was in.
Finally, when Jean knocked Lumine out of the game (apologetically, although she didn’t seem very sorry), Lumine decided to go check on Venti. Thankfully, when she opened the door, she found Venti sitting on the steps, staring up at the moon. Lumine made sure to not-so-subtly shut the door so that Venti knew she was there.
“Hey.” Lumine greeted him, walking over to his side.
“I don’t have an answer yet, sorry.” Venti replied softly, his voice sounding much calmer than before. Perhaps even… sad.
“I’m not here for an answer. I came to check on you.” Lumine replied, sitting down.
“Oh.” Venti slowly looked over at her, more sullen than she had ever seen him.
“…Are you okay?” Lumine asked. “Everyone is worried about you.”
“Oh, yeah— everything’s fine,” Venti gave a reassuring smile that Lumine didn’t quite believe. “I just… genuinely don’t know.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” Lumine asked. “Do you just not remember? Or vaguely remember?”
“I…. I vividly remember,” Venti answered hesitantly. “I just… never knew if it was real or not.”
“So… you did meet the wandering wind?”
Venti cracked a smile, looking at the ground ahead of him.
“Yeah.” He said. “But she wasn’t lost by any means…”
Venti leaned back, placing his hands on the ground behind him as he shifted his weight. His eyes lifted back to the moon, a sad smile on his face.
“The one you call ‘The Wandering Wind’ was a little girl I met many years ago,” Venti began. “She would’ve been around Klee’s age, maybe older, when I first met her. It was during a time when I was traveling around the world—- I ran into her somewhere near what’s now Inazuma, I believe, and she ended up traveling with me.” Venti’s expression softened.
“She… she was a lot like me, I think… she was always so free— nothing could ever tie her down, or quell her excitement.” Venti said. “She was like the wind— traveling anywhere and everywhere without restraint… and she was one of the youngest Anemo Vision holders I’ve ever met.”
Venti glanced over at Lumine, who’s eyes were fixated on him, filled with awe. Almost instantly, Venti’s comfortable composure snapped back into something more awkward.
“Ah— sorry to ramble on like that,” he apologized.
“No, it’s okay!” Lumine insisted quickly. “Tell me more about her— was the story Jean told true? Why aren’t you sure?”
“Well… the story sounds right, if I remember correctly…” Venti said, thinking. “That was the first time the girl had ever seen a part of my archon form—- my wings… she was completely infatuated with them…” Again, Venti’s expression softened into sorrow. Slowly, he sat up properly and offered his hand to Lumine.
“Here. This is one of the few conversations I remember well.”
Lumine gave venti a puzzled look, but took his hand nonetheless. As she did so, the wind began to blow.
It wasn’t a strong wind— it was rather gentle compared to what she had seen Venti do in battle. But it was still strong enough to make both her hair, and the fabric of her clothing, flow along with it. The whole time, Venti’s eyes remained on Lumine as he held a soft, expecting smile.
The scene was starting to feel familiar— just like what Venti had done for that man in the bar. But instead of a figure appearing, all that was heard were voices, traveling through the wind.
The first to be heard was an excited giggle belonging to a little girl. Hearing the sound echo through the air, Lumine looked around, trying to pinpoint the origin.
“Your wings are so pretty!” The voice behind the giggle exclaimed. “I want wings just like yours!”
Lumine finally looked up, just above both her and Venti’s heads. Two small figures were present, made of small bits of a glowing magic. They weren’t very detailed, but they were detailed enough to get a gist of who was who.
“If I could pluck them off and give them to you, I would.” The second figure, much taller than the girl replied. “They’d serve you better than I.”
It was Venti’s voice. The figure did, in fact, have wings— just like Jean had said in the story. Lumine vaguely wondered what Venti’s real wings looked like.
“No! I don’t want your wings!” The girl cried. “I want my own wings, so that we can fly together!”
The winged figure took a small step back, seemingly surprised by the girl’s prompt retort. Slowly, a smile came to his face.
“That would be wonderful,” He agreed. “But you don’t need wings to fly with me.” “But you don’t need wings to fly with me.” Both the real venti, and the small figure spoke at the same time, drawing Lumine’s attention back to Venti.
She noticed that Venti was watching his own display, a weak smile on his face. Lumine’s eyes were drawn back to the display by the sound of giggling. The winged figure had used his vision to lift the little girl into the air and flew alongside her with his wings. The little girl was spinning around in the air with a bright smile, bubbling with laughter.
The flying continued for a second or two, until the little girl reached out for the winged figure. He swooped in, catching the girl in his arms and spinning her around in the sky. That time, they were both laughing.
The giggling and spinning came to an abrupt stop when the sound of footsteps was added to the sounds of the display. Both the figure and the little girl traded a look.
“Momma’s back!” She said, “Do you think she’ll come fly with us?”
“Only one way to find out!” The figure replied, although his voice slowly faded out as he reached the end of his sentence. Along with it, the wind died down to a stop, and the magic disappeared.
“…Wow…” Lumine spoke up, slowly looking back down at Venti. “So… she was never really lost at all…”
Venti’s gaze lingered in the air where the magic was before.
“Nope… she belonged with me.”
“Then… why aren’t you sure if you ever met her?” Venti slowly looked back at Lumine.
“…Because of her death.” He answered. “…The one day I was separated from her, she was attacked and killed by something or someone I never got to see…. All I found was her body…”
Lumine’s heart sank.
“That’s… that’s awful…” Lumine said. “I’m so sorry.” Venti nodded a little in response to her condolences.
“I ended up finding a nice place to lay her to rest, and then fell into a deep sleep myself not too far away…” Venti continued. “…When I awoke hundreds of years later, I couldn’t find a trace of her… not even her vision was left behind…” He curled in on himself a little, pulling his knees closer to his torso.
“So I… I thought perhaps she was a lovely dream turned nightmare in my long slumber…”
“Oh…” Lumine said quietly. “Your response makes sense, now… but what about Jean’s story? If her ancestor really did see the wandering wind, wouldn’t that mean she was real?”
“Yeah, but, uh…” Venti’s eyes glossed over. “…I don’t know if that makes it better… or so much worse.”
Lumine reached out and took Venti’s hand in her own. She said nothing— simply offering support with her presence. Venti’s face contorted as he held back tears.
There was a good chance he actually would’ve cried, had it not been a sniffle at the tavern’s doorway. Both Lumine and Venti whipped their heads towards the sound, startled to hear a third person present. But it wasn’t just a third person— Paimon, Jean, and Diluc were all standing at the cracked doorway, peeking outside. The sniffle had come from Paimon, who was in tears.
“Wha— how long have you been there??” Lumine asked, mainly directed at her traveling companion. Paimon didn’t give a cohesive response, simply a jumble of words all slurred together which ended up turning into a wail. Paimon flew out the door, throwing her arms around Venti’s shoulder.
“Paimon is sooorrryyy!” The fairy cried. Venti blinked a few times, his brain trying to catch up with the sudden turn of events. He reached up and wiped his tears away, gently patting Paimon’s head.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Venti replied.
Jean let out a small sigh, smiling.
“We heard most of the story— Paimon beat both Diluc and I, and we were coming to invite you two to join the next round. But when we heard you talking, we thought it would be better to wait.”
“So you eves-dropped instead?” Lumine accused.
“We may have done that.” Jean answered without the smallest hint of shame. “But there’s a good chance you would’ve told the story again when you two returned inside anyways. This just saved time.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Lumine replied, gaining a laugh from Venti. Paimon’s crying was progressively dying down in the background.
“I apologize for the grief my story has caused— even if it was unintentional. I wanted us all to relax after our hard work today, not dig up a part of your past. I’m sorry for how things turned out.” Jean said.
“Like I said, there’s no reason to be sorry.” Venti replied. “We all learned something new today— and I call that a win.” Lumine snickered.
“Only you would see reliving past trauma as a win.”
“First of all, it wasn’t ‘reliving’, it was remembering ,” Venti corrected. “And second, I got to remember a time in my life when I was really happy, even if it ended tragically. I choose to look at the good part of that story.”
“An approach we should all take towards life.” Jean agreed. “Are you going to be joining us back inside, Venti?”
“Of course,” he smiled. “I haven’t even touched my drink.”
“See? Told you.” Lumine said, pushing herself up onto her feet. Venti let out a wounded noise.
“Am I that predictable?” He asked, handing Paimon to Lumine before he stood up.
“Yes.” Diluc finally piped in. “Especially when it comes to alcohol.” Venti huffed, crossing his arms.
“So mean.”
“Come on, everyone,” Jean held the door open, motioning inside, “let’s play another round of cards.”
“Paimon will win!” Paimon declared.
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Venti retorted. The two race inside, one after the other. Diluc rolled his eyes and followed behind them. Lumine lingered.
She glanced back at the spot where the magic display had formed. Venti’s friend… the little girl… every time he got attached to someone, they died…
He seemed completely fine on the outside, but the more Lumine learned about him…
…the more she wondered just how much his past affected his trust in others— or perhaps even his trust in himself. It fractured him enough that he stuffed away his crying when Paimon and company had appeared— in what other ways did it affected him?
“Lumine?” Jean asked, grabbing Lumine’s attention.
“I’m right behind you.” Lumine replied. “I just got a little distracted, is all.” She walked past Jean and into the bar.
“I hope you’re ready to lose.”
“Ha! You wish.” Jean shot back, following behind Lumine and allowing the door to shut behind her.