Chapter Text
Aemeath stares at the women who found her. There’s a fascinating pattern on the hair of one of them, white and feather- like, converging on her dark hair.
“I can’t get a hold of Baizhi or anyone, Yangyang. I can’t get any information about her.” The red-haired woman, Chixia, tells her companion. “Her parents must be worried sick.”
Yangyang looks at Chixia, “Let’s take her with us to Jinzhou. Then ask around for her parents.”
Chixia squats down beside her, giving her a once over, “What’s your name? You shouldn’t be out here.”
They didn’t look dangerous and seem to genuinely worry for her, “Aemeath… I was with my d-dad.”
Horror filled Chixia’s features, “Did he … leave you here?”
The thought made her lower lip tremble and her tears well up, “N-No! He said that he was gonna spend some time with me. But he lied s-so I followed him h-here.”
“Oops. Sorry, kid. Didn’t mean to spook you.” Chixia scratches the back of her head, sheepish.
“She’s a child, Chixia.” Yangyang sighs at her.
Recovering from her blunder, Chixia stares at her again, “You don’t look like you’re from around here.”
“I’m from the Frostlands!” She declares with her hands on her hips.
Yangyang nods at Chixia, “That’s really far. Are you and your dad visiting?”
“Yes! Dad has an important business to do here and decided to stay here for a while. We mostly stay at settlements or camp beneath the stars.”
“That’s dange-“ Yangyang shushes Chixia with a gesture of her index finger in front of her lips.
“That’s great! You must’ve seen a lot of beautiful places.”
Her worries ebbed away as they let her talk about her adventures with her dad.
“Why don’t you come with us? Let’s look for your dad together.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! What’s better than two heads? Three, am I right?”
Aemeath didn’t understand her joke and simply tilts her head to the side.
Yangyang places herself between the Tacet Discord and Aemeath. Baizhi and Chixia are somewhere outside of the barrier created by the creature. An Overlord class, she isn’t sure she can stand and fight this alone.
It stares at them; spear pointed at their direction. She readies her blade to intercept it.
Yangyang doesn’t have time to notice the ground shake beneath them and the immense wave of spectro energy breaking through the barrier with one hit.
And in a blink, a man is already cradling Aemeath protectively. Her tiny arms linking behind his nape in a tight embrace.
“It’s alright, Aemeath. I’m here.” He kisses the top of her head, comforting the distraught child.
Her breath is still shaky from the fight. Instinct takes over as she looks around. There was not one sign of the TD that attacked them but she does notice a faint string of an Echo leading to the tacet mark on his right hand.
His voice disarms her, rich and almost deep, “Thank you for looking after my daughter.”