VenBer/AmVen (Venti/Amber)
Venti was a good person… a bit of a drunkard, and maybe he was a bit reckless… but overall, a good person. Bards portray a story through her music, and she’d always enjoyed listening to them! His performances were some of the more popular ones in Mondstadt, and if he so happened to be at the tavern while she was, she’d happily listen to his tunes… even though she may not remember it after drinking.
He looked around her age, not younger, not much older… maybe by a year at most… 2 years would be a stretch. Either way, he is certainly old enough to drink. It’s just, she wonders why he wants to drink. Does he simply like the taste? Does he drink in celebration (this would also raise a question of what made him feel accomplished enough to drink more than 20 glasses every few hours…)? Or is he drinking to mask a pain?
She knows that ‘eyes don’t lie’, and well… he seemed like a free spirit. A free spirit, because he’d suffered for it. What he’d suffered… she didn’t know. Would this make him wise? That’s a question she’s asked herself too. He seems responsible and mature at times, and yet so irresponsible and immature at others! …As if she didn’t see herself in that.
She really wants to figure out his personality, how he reacts to certain things- because, well, she just wants to know more about him! But also… sometimes she’s been marked as a little insensitive. It was always unintentional, but it happens! So this time, she wants to make sure that she doesn’t hurt or offend Venti in any way… because she’s started to grow a particular affection toward him.
Perhaps he’s noticed too, because they’ve been talking more, running into each other more, getting closer, etcetera… it would be hard to not see the extra effort she’s put in.
She already appreciated his interests quite similarly, like cecilias, dandelion wine, and stories on the wind… but trying to understand him let her indulge herself with those interests even more.
She’d go to Starsnatch Cliff smelling like apples, and come back with a strong scent of cecilias on her clothes. She’d wander around Mondstadt, and listen to the bards… She’d watch as their fingers plucked the strings, though none were as masterful as Venti’s. If she watched his performances while sober, she would feel a strange yet welcome surge of comfort wash over her. If she wasn’t quite drunk enough to forget the night… she’d be cleared of the block in her mind from the alcohol with his simple strums. At one point, she wondered if Master Diluc got any profit from these sobering melodies… and it was likely that he did, judging from the clamour of the un-drunken men to the bar after Venti finished his melody.
~
Venti sighed as he lifted his head from his arms on the bar. Diluc eyed him as he downed another bottle… what was it, 40-something bottles… no, surely it was 70? Whatever the number, it was time for him to stop. ‘Barbatos’ or not, he didn’t want him to drink that much! Especially when Diluc knew that Venti was never going to pay that tab.
Diluc saw Amber playing TCG with another sober-ish person in the tavern out of the corner of his eye- she’s better friends with Venti than he is, so she should probably take him home herself.
He waited for the game to finish silently, watching as she threw her hands up in victory. Finally! It was a long game but she seemed to feel accomplished. The other player hung their head in shame… Amber gave some words of comfort but she didn’t stay for long. She stood up, ready to leave, and she approached the bar. Her attention switched to Venti at one point, though she didn’t keep it on him for too long.
Placing a hand on the edge of the bar table, she slid onto a chair and ordered a drink to go. “Are you sober?” Diluc queried, and Amber raised her head again, nodding. “Hm? I would say so, yes. Why do you ask?” *He seemed to be relieved, though his face remained quite cold. “Take Venti home, please. He drank too much today... like all other days.” Diluc said, mumbling the last part. Amber was surprised, but still felt duty cling to her and she couldn’t decline.
Diluc handed her her bottled drink, and she tried to wake up Venti, shaking him lightly. He stirred and his head tilted, eyes lidded in his inebriation. Recognition plastered his face, and he smiled lightly at her.
Finally, he raised his head from his arms and he stared. Really, he just stared… for a couple seconds. He only broke his gaze when Amber rose from her stool. “I guess you’re taking me home, then?” Amber paused in her movement. How’d he know? He didn’t seem keen on leaving, but maybe he knew it was time to stop?
“One more bottle for the way home?”
Maybe not. Amber touched Venti’s shoulder and he sighed as they walked out of the door. “Let’s go… actually, where do you live?” Amber asked, realising she’d never seen him actually go to any specific house. Venti shook his head. “Never mind that, let’s go to the grande goth hotel!” Assuming that was his current place of residence, Amber agreed.