Chereads / The Pyro Series / Chapter 23 - Amber's Acceptance

Chapter 23 - Amber's Acceptance

Amber told everyone that they had no work today, because she was working on something that day. "Well thank goodness we don't have to do any work today, but what are you doing, Amber?" asked Yoimiya. "Well I'm cooking a wonderful meal for the Dendros, they don't really know how to cook, you know because they deal with grass, and they mostly eat vegetables, but I don't want any of you to screw anything up, so don't intervene, ok?" she said. "Well Amber, don't you realize that you have one of the best cooks of all of Teyvat right here, maybe she can help you out" Hu Tao suggested while nudging at Xiangling. "No thanks, Hu Tao, I can handle this on my own" And off she went. Amber was making a stew when she saw the twins arrived, she asked them if they could watch over the food while she went to the restroom. "Well Amber, I guess I'll watch over, while Aether does the rest of my jobs for me" said Lumine. Amber just shook her head and ran quickly, the twins say that they saw some yellow stains on her leg. Lumine saw that there were some peppers on the tables, they were a chili pepper and a ghost one. She called Xiangling over to see which pepper was hotter. Xiangling paid no attention to the differences of the two peppers, maybe it would've been good if she had. When Xiangling tasted the pepper, she ate the ghost pepper, she felt a little kick but that was when her face started to become red, and steam was coming out of her ears, nose, and mouth. Lumine gave her some milk, but the milk was spoiled, so Xiangling threw the carton across the table, making the stew spill. When Amber came back, she was furious. "Now who's responsible for this?" she asked sternly. "Well, it wasn't my fault, Amber, you see-" "Say no more, Lumine, it was really my fault, I should've check to see which pepper was the ghost pepper, and I know I shouldn't have meddled with your stuff" Xiangling said humbly. Amber said nothing and just took a deep breath before starting over again. Xiangling told everyone about what she did earlier. "Why doesn't Amber want our help?" asked Yoimiya. "Maybe she wants this meal to be perfect, so she wants no disturbances?" wondered Hu Tao. "I think she just wants us to relax for the day" said Bennett. "While that may be understandable, I don't think she can handle it on her own, you all think we should help?" asked Klee. "I'll go try to help" said Yoimiya before leaving. "I don't think that'll be a good idea, you know Amber can get quite irritated by multiple mistakes" warned Klee. "Well, we'll see what Yoimiya says after she comes back, for now, we can just chill" said Bennett before testing, Klee still had her worries though. When Yoimiya came to check up on Amber, she noticed that she was struggling. "Yo Amber, you need any help with anything, I'm here if you need me" "I'll be ok, Yoimiya, don't worry, I just need to let this turkey cool in the hideout, then I need to wait for the pie to get done, and then I still haven't remade that stew yet, damnit!" she vented. "Amber, listen, there's no need to overwork yourself, I can just cook the stew and then-" "No, you mustn't touch anything, just go back to your tent and rest!" she said impatiently. " I'm not letting you push yourself, Amber, you need to learn that you-" "You know, you all need to learn how to worry about yourselves instead of others, then you'll understand how I feel!" Yoimiya wanted to say something, but she calmed down, and sat down next to Amber to talk. "Amber, let's just sit down for a moment and talk, ok?" Yoimiya said calmly. Amber took another deep breath, then sat down. "Look Amber, we know that you don't want our help because you want to relax, but you have to understand that you can't do everything by yourself, and I feel like if you keep continuing this, you're gonna hurt yourself, so please understand, that we're here for you whenever you need help, so what do you say?" Amber just smiled and shook Yoimiya's hand in agreement. So Amber, Yoimiya, and Xiangling successfully made the meal. When they finally made it to Sumeru, they saw a man in red making an announcement. "Is that a Pyro?" asked Xiangling quietly. "No, I don't think so, but he sounds and looks familiar" said Yoimiya. Then Amber remembered who he was, so she told the two to wait until he was done talking. Collei, who had been concerned about him since the after-party, finally spoke up about something. "Excuse me, sir but are you real?" The man just smiled. "Nahida told me that Hu Tao was confusing you earlier that day, she was talking about Kaeya, the late Cryo, my name is Kazuha, I am a Anemo like Venti" he said proudly. "I got some words for Hu Tao when I see her again" she mumbled, but she was hushed sternly. Kazuha then turned around and saw the Pyros with their food. "I see that these wonderful Pyros have prepared you a wonderful meal, well as much as I would love to join, I have to attend to my duties, so before I forget, I have officially declared your extension to the lake reopen!" When Kazuha left, it was getting late, so the Dendros told Amber, Yoimiya, and Xiangling goodbye and thank you. When they returned, Klee was most concerned. "So how was Amber, did she explode at you?" she asked. Yoimiya chuckled, "Nah, not really, I had a talk with her, and now I think she knows to accept our help every now and then, besides we help her out by doing our jobs, so I think it's much deserved" Klee was proud, but wondered why they came back later than usual, but she was too tired to talk, so she just went to sleep with the others.