𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙧 | Xiao x (Traveler) Reader

10

You felt like your fight against the Adepti had lasted hours, though you knew it had realistically only been minutes. As expected, Ganyu and Cloud Retainer proved to be a lethal combination. After all, the crane Adeptus had practically raised her so you weren't surprised that they were able to fight together dangerously well.

In fact, you'd never seen this much power from Cloud Retainer before. She had summoned so many different mechanical creations of hers that it was hard to keep track of and avoid them all while also keeping an eye on her to dodge her attacks. On top of that, Ganyu still stood far back with her bow, shooting cryo-infused arrows at you while remaining at a safe distance to keep you from harming her.

You dodged a shot from one of Cloud Retainer's Guizhong Ballistas now, grunting in pain as you landed harshly on the ground and aggravated a few of your wounds.

You couldn't focus on the pain for long though, because a second later Ganyu shot at you again and you had to roll out of the way in order to dodge it. Grunting, you got to your feet again and rushed at Cloud Retainer with your sword drawn.

It was more so to get her to back away from you though, as you knew she wouldn't actually let you harm her. Sure enough, as you ran forward, she spread her wings and fluttered back out of your way.

Behind you, Xiao was still dealing with Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper. He'd been holding up well despite his karmic debt acting up but you knew it wasn't going to last much longer. Just based on his slowed movements and labored breaths, you knew it would be too much for him soon, whether he was willing to admit it or not.

You weren't confident you could defend him all on your own either; not against four Adepti, that was. You were strong but after the events of the last few days your injuries had taken a big toll on you. Plus, how were you supposed to be a match for them when you didn't want to harm them, and yet they came at you with such bloodlust?

Still, you had to try. Xiao had defended you against far worse on plenty of occasions and you weren't about to let him down, no matter how much you didn't want to fight your friends like this.

Behind you, you heard him grunt in pain and out of the corner of your eye you could see him keel over from it now.

"Xiao, stop!" You called back, "Just let me handle it!" He didn't reply, but if he'd been able to, you knew he would have wholeheartedly protested the idea.

In your moment of distraction though, Ganyu managed to shoot another arrow at you and this time it landed on the rocks right by your feet, the ice spiraling out to trap you in place just like she'd done back when she attacked at Wangshu Inn. Cursing under your breath, you used your pyro abilities to try and melt it as quickly as you could but before you could fully free yourself Cloud Retainer had shot at you with one of the Guizhong Ballistas again, knocking you back into a nearby tree harshly.

"Y/n!" Xiao managed to shout through gritted teeth, still kneeling on the ground in pain. Panting, you turned to see Moon Carver about to attack him and quickly placed a boulder in between them with your geo power. It was enough to protect the Yaksha from him but a second later, the rock was smashed through by the deer Adeptus's horns.

"Don't...Worry about me!" You called back as the mask disappeared from Xiao's face now. "I'll manage."

And with that, you forced yourself to stand up from where you'd been leaning against the tree and attempt to attack Cloud Retainer again, this time shaving off a couple of her beautiful feathers before she could fly out of the way.

Xiao stood now too, though you could see swirls of black and green still covering his numerous wounds as he did so. Holding off another attack from Mountain Shaper, he managed to make his way over to you so that the two of you stood back to back.