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117 » show me where your heart is tonight
[He hadn't meant to startle anyone, really.
Even so, he'd startled Adelinde when he showed up on the steps of the Dawn Winery, bloodied and bruised from a recent fight. He hadn't asked to stay. He was hoping to avail himself of the facilities, that was all — he wanted to wash up, get the blood out of his hair and face. He thought it might be nice to have a proper bath with hot water rather than another freezing dip in another cold stream out in the wilds. Sure, a Statue of the Seven could have fixed up the worst of Aether's injuries without all the fuss of a bath, but he'd been too tired and wounded to make the pilgrimage there, and it was easier to ignore the ache in his legs while he was gliding toward the manor.
So. Could I just take a bath here? he'd asked, hiding a scrape on his elbow behind the back of one glove. I'll be quick. Diluc won't even have to know.
Somehow, the traveler hadn't expected the head maid to turn right around, march back into the manor, and call for her Master Diluc.
It wasn't, Aether reflects, that he was avoiding the man, though depending on how Adelinde reported the circumstances of his visit, Diluc might now be under that impression. It was just that Aether didn't want to bother him. Mondstadt's richest man and part-time Darknight Hero probably has other things that require his attention — can't spend too much time on the needs and wants of a traveler who is just passing through, even if that traveler had a few heroic mishaps with the city's local god and resident dragon.
Nevertheless, they're in the same space now, and Aether can't exactly continue worrying that he might be a bother. The golden-eyed outlander is sitting in a tub, hot water up to his knees, when Diluc comes into the bathroom with a change of clothes for him — which seems a little remarkable, in truth. The man himself, and not one of the maidservants? Then again, he is the sort of person who seems to always feel that he has to do everything on his own. Aether's gotten the worst of the mess out of his hair, at least; he feels presentable enough by the time Diluc enters, so he doesn't hide from the man's crimson gaze. He only looks over at the winery owner with mild surprise.]
Diluc...
[One of Aether's hands is pushing his hair away from his face so that he can examine an open cut near his hairline in the mirror. It bled more than the actual size of the cut would indicate. He sighs.]
It doesn't look that bad, does it?
Even so, he'd startled Adelinde when he showed up on the steps of the Dawn Winery, bloodied and bruised from a recent fight. He hadn't asked to stay. He was hoping to avail himself of the facilities, that was all — he wanted to wash up, get the blood out of his hair and face. He thought it might be nice to have a proper bath with hot water rather than another freezing dip in another cold stream out in the wilds. Sure, a Statue of the Seven could have fixed up the worst of Aether's injuries without all the fuss of a bath, but he'd been too tired and wounded to make the pilgrimage there, and it was easier to ignore the ache in his legs while he was gliding toward the manor.
So. Could I just take a bath here? he'd asked, hiding a scrape on his elbow behind the back of one glove. I'll be quick. Diluc won't even have to know.
Somehow, the traveler hadn't expected the head maid to turn right around, march back into the manor, and call for her Master Diluc.
It wasn't, Aether reflects, that he was avoiding the man, though depending on how Adelinde reported the circumstances of his visit, Diluc might now be under that impression. It was just that Aether didn't want to bother him. Mondstadt's richest man and part-time Darknight Hero probably has other things that require his attention — can't spend too much time on the needs and wants of a traveler who is just passing through, even if that traveler had a few heroic mishaps with the city's local god and resident dragon.
Nevertheless, they're in the same space now, and Aether can't exactly continue worrying that he might be a bother. The golden-eyed outlander is sitting in a tub, hot water up to his knees, when Diluc comes into the bathroom with a change of clothes for him — which seems a little remarkable, in truth. The man himself, and not one of the maidservants? Then again, he is the sort of person who seems to always feel that he has to do everything on his own. Aether's gotten the worst of the mess out of his hair, at least; he feels presentable enough by the time Diluc enters, so he doesn't hide from the man's crimson gaze. He only looks over at the winery owner with mild surprise.]
Diluc...
[One of Aether's hands is pushing his hair away from his face so that he can examine an open cut near his hairline in the mirror. It bled more than the actual size of the cut would indicate. He sighs.]
It doesn't look that bad, does it?