Rising Winds Festival Pt. 13

"Mr Aether! Mr Aether! Are you alright?" Klee ran over and grabbed Aether's hands to inspect them. Aether smiled sweetly.

"I'm okay Klee. I'm very strong. I won't get hurt by a stupid Abyss Mage." Aether said petting her head and she smiled.

"But.... now my treasure is gone...." Klee said looking down at the ground sadly. Aether sighed and kneeled down in front of her.

"Klee. You can't exactly call a bomb treasure you know. Why did you try to hide it anyways?" Aether asked.

"I thought that if I hid it away..... Master Jean won't send me to solitary again...." Klee explained sadly. Aether narrowed his eyes.

"Hmmmm. Well next time you make a bomb like this. Give it to me so I could safe keep it. I won't let it hurt people." Aether said determined.

"You would do that for Klee?...." Klee asked hopeful with tears welling at the corner of her eyes.

"Yes. I would Klee. I would always help you. Master Jean has some explaining to do though. " Aether said seriously. He stood up and looked at Jean. Jean flinched a little bit with his serious and angry expression.

" Can you tell me why you sent this child into a place where prisoners go? And do it over and over again when she makes mistakes? I thought she was joking at first but now that she explained it to me I'm starting to question how you treat children?" Aether said getting closer. The surroundings behind him got darker. Klee ran to Amber and Lisa to hide behind them.

" Mr Aether looks scary... I shouldn't have told him that. Now Klee is going to go to solitary again. " Klee said tears welling in her eyes.

" She needed to learn not to run around and cause destruction. " Jean said stepping forward while narrowing her eyes.

" By putting her in isolation? She is just a child. You literally have Lisa, Amber and the others to teach her and take care of her. Although I have next to no experience in taking care of a child. I sure as hell wouldn't do that. " Aether said clenching his fist.

" Uh oh.... Are they going to fight? " Klee whispered. Amber looked at her with a worried expression.

"I hope not. It will be destructive." Amber replied.

"Although I would love to see both of them fight, I do not want them to fight in front of a child." Lisa added. Amber nodded.

" You're not the caretaker of Klee. You should politely turn away or you'll regret raising your voice at me. " Jean said summoning her Aquila Favonia. The surroundings got even darker, dark clouds were floating on their heads.

"Come on Klee. We should go. You said you wanted to go adventuring with me right? Now is your chance. " Aether said turning to Klee.

" Klee. Don't listen to him. It's dangerous outside.Barbatos knows where he'll take you to. You could get hurt. Come with me and i won't put you in solitary. " Jean said looking at her. Klee hid behind Lisa and Amber even more.

" Paimon thinks you need to stop the quarreling now. Klee looks like she's about to pee her pants and cry." Paimon advised inside Aether's mind.

" I need to. That did not go as I thought it would. I thought she would explain it to me nicely. Guess I thought wrong. " Aether replied back inside. Aether stared at her. He raised his killing intent to the max for a second. It turned pitch black for a moment. He did not aim his intent at Klee and his girlfriends. She would literally die from the pressure and they would faint. Suddenly the darkness reverted back. The surroundings were only slightly dark now. He turned and walked away before stopping and looked back at her with menacing red eyes.

" If I hear one word about you putting Klee in solitary confinement in my absence I WILL do something about it." Aether said with venom and walked away. Jean instantly fell down panting heavily.

"Master Jean!" Amber shouted and ran to her side with Lisa following.

"Are you okay Jean? He didn't hurt you right?" Lisa said checking Jean all over. Klee looked at the scene with sadness.

"It's all..... because of me..... Now they are fighting.... Klee doesn't want them to fight...." Klee muttered tears dripping on the ground. Suddenly her face was raised up. Jean was looking at her with sadness as well.

" Let's.... let's go home Klee..... It's getting late.... I'll take you home.... I'll cook for you..... I'll read a bedtime story too....." Jean said with tears in her eyes. Klee wiped her eyes and nose. She made a small smile.

" Okay. " She said. Jean held her hand and they went home with Lisa and Amber following.

Meanwhile with Aether and Paimon who just appeared beside him. They walking to his apartment from another direction.

"What happened back there? Why did you get angry all of a sudden?" Paimon asked.

"I.... have developed a soft spot for Klee. I knew somehow she would get sent into solitary again. I just couldn't see her sad. " Aether explained.

" What now? What will you do the next time you meet Klee? " Paimon asked flying around him.

" Take her on an adventure. I don't care what Jean says. She definitely deserves it with all the hours spent in isolation. " Aether said picking up the pace.

"Alright. What if Jean catches you again?" Paimon asks even more.

"Then I'll take her with me as well. She definitely needs a break with those paperwork duties before she eventually goes insane. It's not even job fitting for her. It should be for the secretary or something. " Aether said getting dumfounded at the incompetentcy of the Knights.

"Yeah Paimon thinks it's stupid. Now she knows why Diluc hates the knights. " Paimon said understanding something new.

"You and me too Paimon. Let's go home. I'll cook for us." Aether said.

"Yes!" Paimon cheered and Aether smiled. At least he had a friend he could rely on in confusing moments like this. That night they ate a very big dinner and fell asleep an hour later.

To be continued.....

(Not what you expected but I think it's logical. Why would you send a child to solitary. It's part of the game I guess.)

To be continued.....