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It's... not the most graceful Aether has ever been, for sure, but... With a little puff of Anemo, he pulls the elbow of the prosthetic closer to him. It taps him lightly on the chest.
"This is just so you'll have something for now," the healer assures him. "If it works out for you, we'll have two custom-made. You'll be a bit less clumsy with something made to your proportions, and we can add more joints once you've had some practice. Most people who are able to use Anemo prefer this type of prosthetic, though."
The arm is simple, really. It's hollow, made of a light metal, scattered with stratetic vents. To operate it, one directs air with Anemo to push on interior sails, which push the joints so the arm can move. It's too delicate to be used to lift anything heavy, but for tasks like eating or writing, it's supposed to be quite workable. It just takes fine control over the air currents around the prosthetic.
Easier said than done, but at least Aether will have a project.
"Thank you," Aether says. He uses slow gusts of air to stretch the elbow out, then pull it back toward himself. The wrist rotates with another little breeze--all the way in a circle, which is a little disconcerting. The last articulated part is the hand, which only opens and closes. A more advanced model would have a wrist that could swing and multiple joints in each finger, but for now... "This is wonderful."
"And here," the healer adds, picking up a pair of items. One of them is a pen, and the other seems to be just a stick. However, each of them has a y-shaped wooden attachment at the end. "Mouthsticks. You'll have better dexterity with your mouth than with the trial prosthetic. You may always have better dexterity with your mouth, for that matter, even with a full version. So these-"
"Have grips," Aether says. He cautiously reaches out with the prosthetic. Everything has to be thought through and calculated, moving one part at a time. But a deep sense of satisfaction floods through him when he picks them up.
"Very good," the healer says, smiling. "You're a natural."
"Thank you," Aether says.
It's not perfect. He still has to have his wheelchair pushed everywhere for him. They haven't even started discussing prosthetics for his legs yet. Apparently the advice they got from the Academy in Sumeru was to wait for him to be well-established with new arms before adding legs to the mix. Not being able to lift heavy weights without breaking the arm is also a disadvantage, although he's told he may be able to mitigate the effect somewhat in the custom prosthetics. Still, he's unlikely to ever be able to use a sword again. Even if he can lift it, the impact of a swing is almost certain to cause too much damage to make it workable. He'll need to be careful about obstructing the vents. He may not be able to wear long sleeves if he stays with this design.
But it's better. It's much better.
---
After picking Aether up from the healers, Lumine and Paimon wheel him and his shiny new arm down to the Good Hunter for lunch. They're pleased to see that while it takes some concentration, he's able to eat a sandwich by himself. He can even drink from his own cup, though he's a little clumsy with it.
"You'll only get better at that with time," Lumine points out. "You're already improving just now."
"Yeah," Aether says, ducking his head a little.
Lumine picks up on his embarrassment and cheerfully changes the subject. "The Adventurer's Guild found a really weird mineral deposit on the slopes of Dragonspine," she says. "We're going with a team to look at it tomorrow, since we're experienced climbers."
"They said it's gold-colored and glowy!" Paimon says, twirling with excitement. "And it smells like a flower!"
"Is it high up on the mountain?" Aether asks, a little hint of concern on his face.
"Not that high," Lumine reassures him. "We've gone much higher than that several times."
"We went all the way to the peak once!" Paimon says. "You could see so far from up there! All the way across to Qingyun Peak, and all the way up to Celestia!"
"Celestia, huh," Aether says, glancing up. Lumine follows his gaze. A building blocks the view, but she knows that you can see the silhouette of Celestia from most parts of Mondstadt if you just climb high enough, and that's the right direction. "Not a good place."
"It looks really pretty," Paimon says.
"It does," Lumine says, feeling the drop in mood herself.
"But but but! But anyway!" Paimon barrels forward. "Did you see the giant pillar over Dragonspine, Aether? We did that! That was when we went to the summit! And then we used a wind current to glide over to the top of the pillar! It was so cool!"
Aether smiles. Lumine can tell it's fake. "You should take a Kamera up there if you go again," he says. "I bet you could get a lot of mora for some good images from the pillar."
"Oooh!" Paimon says. "Yeah! I bet people will think they're really cool!"
Lumine laughs. "I don't think we're going up that far again any time soon." When Aether's had all his new limbs made and got used to them, he's going to want to move on, isn't he? And that means that she should be focusing on getting out to new places and exploring them and getting her powers back so that she can move on, shouldn't she? So... she shouldn't keep sitting around running errands for the people of Mondstadt, right? Maybe she shouldn't go climb that mountain again. Maybe she should be trying to get to Sumeru...
"I can hear you thinking," Aether says.
"I... should be busier than I am," Lumine says.
"You overwork yourself as it is!" Paimon complains. "You don't need to be doing more work!"
Aether smiles, for real, and softly. "Paimon's right," he says. "You don't need to push yourself."
Lumine shakes her head. "You're working so hard," she tells her brother. "I'll fall behind."
Aether laughs gently. "You're way ahead of me," he says. "I don't think you know how much."
Lumine frowns. "Is that about your- your body? Because I told you, that doesn't mean-"
"No," Aether says. "It's about-" He sighs and shakes his head. "That's not important. What's important is that you should take your time."
"Yeah!" Paimon chimes in. "We're not in a hurry to- to do anything!"
"Okay," Lumine says, not reassured at all. "Maybe we'll take the Kamera with us tomorrow, though, even if we're not going so high..."
===
Kaeya already warned Lumine and Paimon that he'd probably be home late tonight. He implied he'd be working late, but that's not true. He took the whole day off. Diluc's birthday. The day Father died. He takes it off every year.
Lumine won't be looking for him in Angel's Share, because he hasn't been out drinking in more than a month. He's convinced Rosaria to warn him if his little sister or Paimon show up, so that he can duck out and not spook them, but he doubts they'll come here looking for him. She's got Aether to keep her busy through the day, and then preparations for her trip up the mountain to keep her busy through the evening. This is all doable.
With all of that resolved, Kaeya takes a table in the corner and orders the cheapest garbage on the menu. Tonight's not about enjoying the taste, after all.
Two drinks in, Kaeya's turned down four offers of company, and he's feeling pleasantly buzzed. Four drinks in, the numbness starts to drive away the phantom sensation of flames searing his skin. Charles hesitates to serve him a sixth drink--he'd be well aware of the date, of course. But then Venti, dear Venti buys him another round anyway, without even trying to sit at the table with him--what a benevolent Archon they have here in Mondstadt!
"You're not pacing yourself very well." Someone sits down at his table and plunks a glass of water in front of him.
"Excuse me, m'not lookin' for company this evening," Kaeya slurs. Usually by this point in the evening, everyone's figured out he wants to mope in peace.
"I'm not company."
Kaeya squints at the intruder at his table, and then realizes. "Luc? What're you doin' here...?"
"Trying to improve the hangover you're going to have in the morning," Diluc says. "Drink it, Kaeya."
Kaeya scowls, and tries to speak as clearly as he can. "Everyone else knows to fuck off today," he says, though he does drink a little water.
"I know," Diluc says. "What are you drinking tonight? I'll get the next round."
"Don't care," Kaeya says. "Anything, if I'm not paying."
"Right," Diluc says, and gets up from the table.
Kaeya finishes his water while Diluc's gone. He doesn't like being alone, but he doesn't like being noticed like this, either.
Probably serves him right for going to Diluc's bar, he realizes belatedly.
"Here," Diluc says, setting another drink in front of Kaeya before sitting down again with-
Kaeya has to squint hard, but he can make out what Diluc's got in his own glass. "That's booze."
"It is," Diluc says.
"You hate it," Kaeya says.
"It's my birthday," Diluc replies.
Kaeya laughs. "Fine, birthday boy, suit yourself," he says. He gulps at his drink.
"You're going to hate yourself in the morning," Diluc says, taking a sip of his own.
"Already do," Kaeya says.
Diluc grimaces.
Kaeya laughs. "Can't stomach it?" he asks. "Gimme a minute, and I'll take it off your hands." He swallows down a little more.
"Don't worry about it," Diluc says, and this time he takes a more solid swig. "You can get your own."
"Drinkin' just to get drunk isn' good for you," Kaeya says, waving an arm at the table. He almost knocks over a glass.
"I'm aware," Diluc replies.
Kaeya starts to relax again. Whatever Diluc is doing, he's not here to pass judgment, and it's nice to know he's alive tonight...
---
Diluc wakes from a light doze when he hears a soft groan.
Ah. Kaeya's awake.
"There's water," Diluc murmurs. "To your left."
Kaeya sits up on the little cot and finds the water glass sitting on the floor next to him. He downs it in a single go. "What happened last night?"
"You drank until you passed out," Diluc replies. "Nothing interesting."
Kaeya looks around, eye roaming across the room. "You have a bed in your storeroom?"
"And you have one in your office," Diluc says. "So whatever it is, I don't want to hear it."
"Lumine's going to be so worried," Kaeya says. "I didn't go home last night-"
"I slipped a note under the door while you were sleeping," Diluc says.
"What did you tell her?" Kaeya asks. He's trying to sound even, but he's got too much of a headache to quite cover up the alarm.
"That you were with me on my birthday," Diluc says.
Kaeya sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "What time is it?" he asks. "I've got work..."
"Seven or so," Diluc says, and yawns.
"Are you... okay?" Kaeya asks hesitantly. "You look like you didn't sleep."
"Not much," Diluc admits. "I took today off, though, so it's fine."
Kaeya studies him for a moment. "Diluc..."
"It's a hard day," Diluc admits, thinking back to last night, after Kaeya had finally passed out and Diluc had settled his brother in the cot. His hands are still throbbing under his gloves.
Kaeya gets up and inches over to Diluc's side like he thinks Diluc is going to spook and flee like a scared animal. He pulls Diluc into a timid hug. "I'm sorry you had to spend it looking after me," he says.
Diluc shakes his head, slowly leaning into Kaeya's grip. "It was... it was good to have something to do," he says. And it's not as if he has any room to speak about unhealthy coping mechanisms when it comes to Father's death.
"What do you need?" Kaeya asks.
"Just some sleep," Diluc says. It won't come soon, but he knows from experience that by evening, his body will be too exhausted for his mind to keep him awake anymore.
Kaeya sighs. "I missed you," he says.
"Yeah," Diluc admits. "I missed you too."
Eventually, Kaeya's going to have to go to work. And Diluc needs to get back to the Winery, apologize to Aether for having a servant take him home without giving him warning, work through the accounts again...
But for a few minutes, it's calm.