Chapter Text
Xiao wasn't nervous.
He couldn't be, not when he was accompanying his Lord to a meeting with the other Archons. Out of all the Yakshas, he was chosen, and he would do all he could to make Rex Lapis proud.
It was far from the first time the Geo Archon went to one of these meetings, he had gone there since he first became an Archon, but it was the first time he brought someone with him. It was an idea they had, he had said when asked, to each bring a companion, someone close to them to their next meeting. A way of bonding, according to some of the other Archons.
He'd been so startled when his Lord had told him he was the first choice that he didn't respond at first, not that he would have been able to with his siblings all voicing either their congratulations, mostly Bosacius and Indarias, and questions about the event from Bonanus and Menogias.
Xiao had rarely seen his Lord so overwhelmed.
Eventually, after the others's questions were answered, the god turned to him to ask if he accepted, adding that he had the right to refuse if meeting unknown gods was too much for him. Xiao dismissed his worries and accepted.
Though now, he was starting to regret accepting, not that he would ever admit it to his Lord.
He wrung his hands in front of him, the urge to stress preen that had been getting stronger as they neared the meeting place -a mountain on the edge of Liyue and Mondstadt, the location changed for every meeting, to give everyone a chance to show off their own nation- was almost overwhelming now. 'Maybe Bosacius would have been a better choice...'
He heard the questioning hum from his Lord and turned to see him look worriedly at him.
"Are you sure you don't want to simply wait for me here Xiao? It wouldn't be held against you, I'm sure some of the other Archons are coming to the meeting alone." He shook his head in response.
"I'm sure my Lord." The amber eyes of the Geo Archon observed him for a few seconds before he was nodding.
"Very well, but you can step away if it gets too much, alright?"
As usual, Lord Rex was understanding and kind, after so long serving him it didn't rub him the wrong way anymore, he had long earned Xiao's complete trust. The Yaksha nodded decisively and the god resumed walking.
He followed behind his Lord, fidgeting with the hanging accessories on his belt instead of picking at the skin of his fingers, a bad habit he had a lot of trouble breaking, until he heard voices from up ahead. He couldn't see who was speaking, but he didn't need to see them to guess their identities.
The other Archons were there.
He vaguely realized that he had stopped breathing, and took a deep breath and forcefully relaxing his tense posture, hoping that Rex Lapis hadn't noticed. The worried side-eye he got from the god told him he had, but he ignored the look until the other sighed.
His breath caught in his throat when they entered the clearing and he took in the other gods present. They were talking to each other and, thankfully, hadn't noticed their arrival yet, so Xiao looked around at each of them. He hadn't even realized that his Lord had stopped walking at the edge of the clearing, giving him the chance to observe his surroundings.
They all looked so different, yet all had a similar aura to his Lord, he supposed it must be what Archons felt like.
There was two of the Archons, both women, talking to each other. One with light blue hair and a long white robe was playing with Hydro bubbles that floated around her, while the other with flaming hair watched amusedly.
Behind the blue haired god with a light white hood was another woman, although he wasn't quite sure what she was, she felt like a mortal yet her form was made almost entirely of Hydro. Yet it wasn't as strange as the small humanoid dragon standing tall behind the Pyro Archon, he looked away before it noticed him staring.
He barely avoided colliding with a small cabbage looking creature that was running after another one, the little things were being watched over by a gentle looking god with long greenish white hair, who nodded politely at both Lord Rex Lapis and him when she saw them. He wasn't quite sure what to think of that.
Standing at the edge of the clearing were two gods, twins if he had to guess -one felt like an Archon, the other had an artificial aura, how strange- who were speaking to each other. Or, the Archon with the pink kimono was talking happily, while the other with the dark purple kimono was standing quietly, looking as uncomfortable as Xiao himself was.
At least he felt a bit less alone.
There were two other Archons talking, but his gaze was stuck on the giant ice wolf sitting a few steps away from them. It looked back at him and he averted his eyes, his instincts screaming at him to flee from the predator staring him down.
His eyes skipped over the Cryo Archon with long white hair to stare at the other.
He was short compared to the other gods, but the huge cloud-white wings on his back dwarfed most of them in size. The gold details on his -very light- outfit were reflecting the sunlight and very interesting to his bird instincts, he briefly wondered how fast the other could fly before reminding himself that this was an Archon and that he shouldn't stare, but it was too late.
His eyes met Anemo colored eyes as their owner looked back at him, an amused smile on his face when he saw Xiao startle. The Yaksha immediately turned his head back to his Lord, hoping to avoid a confrontation.
His hopes were quickly dashed.
"Yoohoo, Morax!" The Anemo Archon gave an exaggerated wave, and all the others suddently turned to the Geo Archon and, unfortunately for him, to the Adeptus accompanying him.
He narrowly avoided being bowled over by the winged god as he hopped over Lord Rex with a giggle.
"Barbatos." His Lord nodded a greeting to the other, then at the rest of the Archons who approached the duo.
Xiao felt his skin prickle with unease as the gods gazed at him curiously before his vision was obscured by a big white wing hiding him from the stares. He looked at Lord Barbatos, but the other wasn't watching him, almost as if he hadn't meant to shield him.
The quick glance at him was proof that it wasn't an accident.
He didn't listen, or even hear most of what the Archons talked about, the heartbeat in his ears too loud to fully understand anything anyways, and he held back the urge to flee, fidgeting with his belt again.
Eventually the serious conversation abated and the gods and those who accompanied them separated into smaller groups. He glanced at his Lord for permission to slip away, and practically ran as soon as the god nodded, unaware of the bright teal eyes that followed him curiously.
He found a perch hidden from the main clearing and used the silence to take deep breaths and calm his thundering pulse.
"You okay?" Just when he had started relaxing, the cheerful voice of the winged Archon came from behind him and he was back to tensing to avoid reacting to his instincts. He whirled around to face him in surprise, only to pause when the god stepped back and raised his hands in surrender.
"My apologies Little Bird, I mean no harm." Xiao frowned at that, both at the apology and the nickname. He waited silently for the other to speak, only realizing then that he was staring and averting his eyes respecfully.
"Why are you doing that?" Lord Barbatos sounded genuinely confused.
"It's respectful, you are a god." The Yaksha said in a neutral voice, keeping his gaze to the ground.
"You look at Morax just fine though." He couldn't tell if the Archon was teasing him or being serious, and found himself itching to preen again, desperate for a way to ease some of the tension in his body.
"Well, I guess you must be close to him since he brought you along. I came with Andrius, he's the big wolf back there, pretty hard to miss." Barbatos must have noticed his fidgeting, because the god spoke softly as he sat down on a boulder a few steps away from him, bringing one of his fluffy wings to his lap to start preening the long feathers.
He stood there dumbfounded until those teal eyes looked back at him once again.
"I am feeling pretty lonely. Little Bird, won't you join me?" It sounded more like a request than an order, but Xiao didn't feel like provoking the Anemo Archon by refusing. Still, he sat out of arm's length, which the other had no visible reaction to.
"Is Morax always so uptight?" The question caught him so off guard that he found himself staring back into the amused glowing eyes of the god next to him. "He reminds me of Andrius, you know? I like Andrius, but he's so serious all the time... Maybe that's because he used to be a god. He gave up the chance to become the Anemo Archon, I wonder if he'd have been better at it than me sometimes..." He shook his head, his braids swinging. "Probably not, he doesn't like humans very much after all."
Xiao sat unmoving, Barbatos changed topics too quickly for him to fully follow each one, yet the stress was lessening the longer he listened to the god ramble about anything and everything. He didn't feel comfortable preening himself, but the other doing it next to him was at least proof that he wasn't a trying to be a threat, and it was enough to soothe him.
Eventually, Barbatos stopped moving and tilted his head as if listening to something.
"The wind tells me this gathering is nearing its end, will I see you at the next one, new friend?" Being called a friend by another god left Xiao confused, and he nodded without thinking when the other stared questioningly.
The wind god's braid glowed teal as he waved before he disappeared into thin air. Xiao didn't move until his Lord called for him. They left together, the others either teleporting away or continuing to chat, the Dendro Archon waved them off before disappearing herself.
He walked in silence besides Rex Lapis, watching the ground lost in thoughts.
"Xiao, are you alright?" The Geo Archon asked kindly.
"I am My Lord, simply tired." He got a hum in response.
"I see. I saw how taxing this experience was for you, you will not have to accompany me again if you do not wish to."
It was tempting, to simply stay in the familiar territory of Liyue and forget all about the other gods, and yet there was something stopping him. He had already accepted Lord Barbatos's invite to the next Archon gathering, going back on his word would be disrespectful, and he couldn't deny that he was intrigued by this cheerful god.
"I think I would like to go to the next one, My Lord. It was an interesting event." His Lord looked surprised, having expected him to not be interested in meeting immortals from other lands. "I wish to see the other nations as well."
"Very well then. I have to admit, I am surprised, but if you so wish, you may accompany me next time as well."
Later, after escaping from his siblings' incessant questions about the event, as he was sitting on a roof guarding the sleeping harbor and combing through his own feathers, he thought of glowing teal eyes and wonder why the God of Wind had been so interested in him.
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