Chereads / The Pyro Series / Chapter 18 - Venti the Anemo

Chapter 18 - Venti the Anemo

"Xiangling, out of curiosity, just pick your favorite out of these four, Fire, Water, Earth, or Air?" asked Hu Tao. "What kind of question is that, I'm a Pyro, of course I'm picking fire" Xiangling said. "Well as much as I love being a Pyro, I do like the air a lot, and I think that the Anemos are pretty splendid if I do say so myself" "Who are these 'Anemos' that you are so fond of?" asked Xiangling. "Well Anemo is one of the seven elements, their attacks deal with the wind, air, you know all that good stuff" Hu Tao said. "And I thought the Dendros were useless, anyways why are you so worked up about those Anemos?" Xiangling said. "Because one of them will be visiting us today, his name is Venti, and-" But Hu Tao was cut off by the sound of someone playing the harp beautifully. "That's him, right there, Xiangling, come on, let's go!" said Hu Tao while dragging Xiangling. "It's nice to meet you, Venti, my name's Hu Tao, this right here is Xiangling, we are so delighted to have you come visit us!" "It's truly an honor, I came all the way from Anemoculus to see you all, I've heard about your adventures and was inspired to see you all for myself" said Venti. "And let me guess, you're the Archon, right?" Xiangling stated. "Oh yes indeed, you know people think we Anemos are quite useless, but we're actually very important for people" Venti continued. "How so?" asked Xiangling. Venti's expression changed immensely. "Well, Xiangling, the Anemos are very nice people, they have their own little place in Cumulonimbus or wherever, they help save other people from danger, when their bosses don't think they're useful anymore, they throw them at a sighting, and then they-" Hu Tao's trailed softly away. "It's those damn Hydros, isn't it, they're nothing but heartless devils!" exclaimed Xiangling. "But some of them aren't, look at Yelan and Xingqiu" "Well, my opinion still stands, but what I can't understand is what makes the Anemos so special from everyone else?" Xiangling remarked. "Because the Anemos' location is where young souls go to escape from the dangers of their previous location" informed Hu Tao. "So like how the twins escaped and came here with us?" "Yes, you get it now, that's why I like them a lot" said Hu Tao. "I was wrong, I didn't know that you were saving others from being killed, I appreciate you Anemos a lot more now" Xiangling said proudly. "Well, we're just trying to help people find a safe place to stay, it was nice talking to you girls, but I have to meet everyone else here, bye bye!" he said while playing his harp. "Then that's when my boss, the previous Archon found me at a sighting and said, "Venti, you ol' boy, I've found a wonderful place where you stay without the dangers of being harmed, so you ready to go?, I said yes, and well the rest is history" Venti told Bennett later that day. "That's really nice, but have they saved others besides you?" asked the Pyro. "Well of course, there's Kazuha, he often thinks that he's superior since his family was once a noble clan, but we get along well, then there's Sucrose, she's quite the introvert, but has a very sharp mind, she's an alchemist, and finally there's Jean, which I know you heard of her" "Of course, she made herself a name around Teyvat for her daring adventures, inspired tons of people" replied Bennett. "We all like hanging around each other and just chatting, whenever we visit a special place, we do tend to get a little emotional, because of how marvelous you guys are" Venti said in awe. "Well, we Pyros will make you feel the most welcome" said Bennett. Venti said goodbye and thank you before heading off to explore even more. "Anyone wanna go to watch the tennis tournament today down at Sumeru?" asked Hu Tao. "I don't really like sports that much" Xiangling responded. "Well Klee and Yoimiya are busy, and the twins are still asleep, so who else could I take?" she thought to herself. "Yo Hu Tao, can I maybe come join you to watch this tennis match" asked Venti. "Oh, yes please!" said Hu Tao excitedly. So the two went and watched the game, that's when one of the players swung their racket too hard, and the ball went into Venti's hat, completely unbeknownst to him. "What was that, they couldn't even keep the ball in the court, what a terrible game, come on, Hu Tao, we're leaving!" said Venti angrily. One of the players tried to get Venti's attention, but he was too busy talking to Hu Tao. Hu Tao then saw the player running and waving. "What's this?" she thought. "Is he trying to race us, well if it a race he wants, then it's a race he'll get, get a move on, Venti!" she said competitively. So the the two quickly raced the player, Venti was quickly losing his breath when he felt the light breeze came, so he played his harp to direct the wind towards him. When they arrived back at Mondstadt, the player's face was redder than Hu Tao's eyes. "Well, I think we know who won that race, but why did you do it in the first place?" asked Hu Tao while breathing heavily. "Because when I hit the ball, it flew into your friend's hat, so I tried to get your attention" said the player. "Oh, my apologies, sir, I thought you hit it out of the court, here you go, and again, sorry for the inconvenience" Venti said. "It's fine" said the player before heading off to finish the game. "I don't think they'll win a game after that" whispered Hu Tao. When the two arrived back at the hideout, Amber wanted to tell them something. "Alright, you two, Xiangling says that she isn't feeling well, so that means you two have to run to the market to get groceries, and it's rush hour, so it won't be so easy, you two think you can do it?" "We'll give it a good try, Amber!" assured Venti. During the rush hour, Venti was telling Hu Tao where the stuff was, it was crowded, so he couldn't tell where Hu Tao was at times. When Hu Tao became tired, Venti stepped in and finished the rest of the work. The two were exhausted when they returned, but got the job done in time. "Thank you Venti for your wonderful help today, you really are quite resilient, aren't you?" said Amber. "Well, I just wanted to help my fellow Pyros out, that's all". Venti played a song for the Pyros before heading back home, telling the others that they can hopefully meet again sometime.