A Watcher's Duty
He wonders if Yuè-gē is also watching over them from beyond the vast sky.
Skye, performing his duties as a Watcher, throughout the events of Song of the Dragon and Freedom.
Author's Notes
Okay ngl, this was supposed to be a short, two-parter (with the second one being Yún's part during the events of Farewell, Archaic Lord but...... uhh, I kinda went overboard hahaha Also just an FYI but Aether is the canon sibling for this verse hahah
But yeah, this is how Skye is supposed to interact with the Traveler as a Watcher: A bit distant but friendly, nice but not overly polite, would prefer he wouldn't die but if he does, Skye wont be too torn apart by it.
Will we ever get the Liyue chapter??? Who knows lmao
Honestly, Skye still has absolutely no idea how he was dragged into this mess. Presumably, it might have something to do with his close association with the Adventurer's Guild (nah, he's mostly convinced it was the, as Xue would have dubbed them, Wine Dawnery) but in the end, Skye couldn’t say that all the hassle they had to go through wasn’t worth it. On the contrary, out of everyone going along with this ridiculous quest, he was the one who probably benefited the most.
At the very least, his job was far more interesting than the likes of what Kaeya or Xue had to do.
It is, after all, much more interesting and intriguing to watch a dragon fight than some random treasure hoarders.
“There shouldn’t be any hilichurl camps in the vicinity of Stormterror’s Lair…” The small group readied their weapon, as they prepared for the incoming fight. With their capable group of fighters, it didn’t take long to clear out the area and soon, the bard (or is he supposed to start calling him an Archon?) played the lyre and opened their path to the vicinity.
“Watch yourselves.” Jean began, stepping in without hesitation. “Let’s move.”
“Ahh. Hold up.” Skye spoke up, as all of them paused and looked at him. He held out his claymore and looked at the direction of the area from where they came from. Already, the howling winds are carrying the voices of the new hilichurls arriving in the area.
“What is it, mister Skye? Is something wrong?”
“Master Diluc said it himself, they’re spreading their forces to halt us… or to distract us.” His tone is grave and despite his eyes shut, there was no doubt on everyone’s mind that the veteran adventurer could see clearly well. “The area might get flooded with an army of them if we don’t clear them out right here.”
He faced the group, a wry smile resting on his face.
“I’ll stay here and keep them at bay. Oh and, send my regards to Lieutenant Xue and Captain Kaeya if they catch up.” The apologetic and knowing grin he gave Diluc was more than enough to make the man sigh and nod at his request. The two might be late after fixing what is essentially some sort of rat-clean up in Mondstadt but they'll probably appreciate it if the pink-haired man had at least a form of back-up coming from them.
'Xue did say that they're the reinforcements...'
“No, wait, isn’t that dangerous? Why does that sound like a bad omen for you?” Paimon reacted, her tiny voice clearly worried for the pink haired man. Jean and Venti simply looked at each other before nodding (reluctantly in Jean’s case) while Diluc, on the other hand, clapped the other man on the back of his shoulder.
“If you think you can handle them, then you have my support. And yes, I'll send them your way once they're done.”
“M-master Diluc?!”
“Worry not, Honorary Captain,” The smile on Skye’s lips twitched at the damned nickname but Venti continued on without paying it no mind, “if word of your heroic sacrifice is made, rest assured I will be the first to tell the tale to everyone in Mondstadt.”
“Hey, watch it, you tone-deaf bard! You’ll curse him!”
“Haha, don’t worry,” He happily speaks out, “it’ll take more than a bunch of hilichurls to take me out.”
“Well said.” Diluc nods before addressing everyone present. “We’ll leave them in your capable hands. Let us meet up again later.”
“As you wish, Master Diluc.” Skye bowed exaggeratedly as Diluc rolled his eyes before turning around and heading in the Lair. Jean nodded in his direction before following as well while Venti waved and stepped inside too. Before Paimon and Aether headed on in and followed the rest, Skye gripped the younger man’s shoulder.
“Hey... Not that I have any doubt at you, but I hope you will listen to my words.” He spoke quietly, a serious frown settling on the adventurer’s face.
“If Dvalin is too much, there is no shame in running away and prioritizing your survival. After all, Mondstadt is in no need of an additional corpse.”
The pink haired man let go and turned around to face the entrance of the Lair instead. Paimon huffs and mutters something inaudible to Aether before they too head on in to face off Stormterror.
“Even if you do fall, I sure hope the show you put up can satisfy this damned Mad God.” As the hilichurls and a wandering Ruin Guard enter his line of sight, Skye quietly laughed as he summoned his claymore and readied his stance. When the hilichurls finally appeared to have spotted him, Mondstadt’s Watcher let out a ferocious smirk as his eyes snapped wide open, a green glow present in them. His Vision-Gaze activated as he felt the Mad God’s gaze settle onto him.
“For now, you lot will do just fine—Hyah!” Feeling his Gaze settle, Skye begins the assault as he danced around the slashes of the hilichurls gathering around him. For a second, he felt the prick of an arrow imbued with electro before realising what the cluster is up to.
“Nice try, but…” Green eyes stared at the masked menaces before turning around to swipe at them with his claymore. A pyro arrow also landed on him but overload seemed to have not gotten through.
Before the hilichurls realized it, they are all covered in hydro somehow as the pink haired adventurer slashes down onto the Ruin Guard in the back, smashing its eye.
“It’s gaze is here to judge you.”
‘A stack or two should be enough to handle them all.’
He spoke no more as he began hacking through the horde.
“Phew… Well, that’s one battle I wish I could have partaken in.” Skye muttered to himself as his green eyes stared at the giant dragon flying off. He felt a satisfied thrum of purr in him and recognized that it's the Mad God’s way of saying it was content.
The Watcher gritted his teeth, as a flux of anger and bitterness threaten to overcome him. He sighed instead, finally allowing himself to close his eyes.
“Well, congratulations, Traveler.” Skye laughs a bit as he adjusts himself from his sitting position on top of the Ruin Guard’s broken parts. As the sun set, the orange glow covered the area filled with hilichurl corpses disintegrating in a small flood his Vision-Gaze stacks made. A tired smile made its way on his face as he quietly muttered in a regretful voice.
“Let the Wind lead… And let its Gaze be blown away…”
"Huh, you cleaned up well..." Skye didn't need to turn around to know that teasing voice, hearing her kick her spear up and not even wincing at the way she threw it over his head and through the face of a rogue hilichurl still alive and ambushing him.
"Oh come on, am I really that unreliable to you..." He snarked back, jumping down from the tower of corpses he made as he landed without fanfare by the side of the lady. Xue looked at him unamused, letting her spear fall and disappear into the void.
"Then why'd you call for reinforcements?"
"I didn't though? I just thought you might appreciate a nice sunset... Well, supposedly, you and Kaeya."
"He's... busy." As the two began making their way out of the Anemo-driven place, Skye looked up, his green eyes peeked through, and bid the place a small farewell.
“You are that ‘Skye’, are you not?” A blonde woman asked, her mask and the two guards at her side instantly giving away who she is.
‘Fatui, huh… Took them awhile to make a move.’
“Yes? Is there something you need?”
“I wish to know of your… allegiance.”
‘Not to you lot, of course. A shame about my sister’s preference but, ahh, we can’t all help it sometimes, I guess.’
“I assure you, I don’t intend to fight… Or intervene.” He tilted his head towards the cathedral in the distance. La Signora understood the small movement, as she let out a pleased smile.
“It is nice to know that Mondstadt still has a few capable and… understanding individuals—”
“Make no mistake, miss Harbinger, this is not an agreement for me to side with the Fatui neither.” Skye breaks off the other party’s gloating tone as he continues his statement. “If I had wanted to be a part of it in the first place, I would have gone ahead and looked for the various members stationed here.”
“Oh? That is… truly regrettable then.” The Fair Lady frowned, her tone now ice cold and not as warm as earlier. “Rest assure that the door to join our most joyous cause is always open, and that we will be watching.”
‘Considering a quarter of your glorious Fatui are Seekers, who is actually watching who, I wonder…’
Skye made a mocking smile at the Fatui Harbinger’s retreating back. He shook his head as he made his way outside of Mondstadt.
“What was that phrase Yún liked to say? ‘Nothing but a frog in a well’? Yeah, that’s it…” He placed his hands on the back of his head as he casually walked away.
Well, perhaps it’s time to say farewell to the young man and send him towards his sister’s way.
“Hey there, Traveler. I’m glad I caught you before you left.” Skye waved his hand at Aether and Paimon heading his way. He saw the little companion huff and began complaining at his sudden arrival.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hinder you for too long. I’m just here to give you some items for your journey to Liyue, on behalf of me, Master Diluc… Captain Kaeya, and Lieutenant Xue, but please don’t let them know. They're probably going to say something stupid about my allegiance to the Knights of Favonius instead of the Adventurer's Guild again...”
“Hmpf, if you think Paimon can be bribed with a bunch of items—”
“Ahh, there’s a plate or two of Sticky Honey Roast in here—”
“Aww, you’re not such a bad guy after all, Pinky Head!” She made a grab for the items as Aether nodded a quick thanks at the veteran adventurer.
“Well, this is goodbye I believe. Do stop by Mondstadt once again if you’re still alive by then.”
“How rude! Come on, let’s leave him.”
‘It’s a shame… So many interesting things had happened when he arrived… Mondstadt will be quite boring once again, it seems.’ Skye thought, opening his eyes as he let his sister know of the Traveler's next destination being her own territory. As he walked back onto the silent streets of Mondstadt and into the doors of the warm tavern, there was a thought lingering at the back of his head.
He wondered if Yuè-gē is also watching over them from beyond the vast sky.
Yún sighed, her Gaze now closed as he received the latest intel from her brother. By her left, a Fatui agent that was present within the meeting between a certain Harbinger and the Lord of Geo stood still, his own report finally concluding.
Liyue's Watcher understood that great changes were about to begin.
She just hoped it would be enough to sway the Mad God from doing anything else other than watch.