leashed

They stayed one more full day at the stadium village before starting the short trek back toward the hot springs where Beidou’s ship would collect them.

Aether spent that day on a short, practical leash.

Shenhe held the other end with the same quiet, absolute competence she brought to everything else. The arrangement was simple and non-negotiable: he went where she went, and nowhere alone. Bathroom trips required an escort. Even stepping outside the private rooms for air meant the white-haired calamity standing three paces away, expression blank, grip firm. Rosaria had been very clear. After the midnight vanishing act, unsupervised movement was finished for the immediate future.

Rosaria herself was a walking contradiction.

She kept the sharp tone and the pointed reminders that he was still in trouble, yet every few minutes her fingers drifted to the new silver ring on her hand, turning the pale Cryo stone so it caught the light. The upbeat satisfaction she tried to bury under residual anger kept slipping through — a softer set to her mouth, the occasional unguarded glance at the ring, the way she stayed closer to him than the punishment strictly required. Aether accepted every restriction without complaint. Watching the worst of her fury drain away while she kept touching the replacement he had risked the dungeon for was more than enough compensation.

The rest of the pride suffered in a different way.

Rosaria’s ban extended to him completely: no sex, no opportunistic hands, no “just a quick round to take the edge off.” For a group that had spent the Pilgrimage and the following night thoroughly spoiled, the sudden drought landed hard. More than once Cloud Retainer was observed in a quiet corner or behind a half-closed screen, elegant fingers working steadily between some girl’s thighs while the recipient bit down on a wrist or a pillow to stay quiet. Lisa, Dehya, Ganyu, even a faintly sulky Citlali took their turns at a careful distance from Aether, receiving precise, efficient orgasms from the adeptus or helping eachother while the leashed Passion Claimer was forced to watch from across the room and do nothing about it.

(https://im.ge/i/QMHpXJK)
(artist: Raimy)

The final goodbyes happened at the edge of the stadium village where the road bent toward the coast.

Mavuika, Varesa, and Chasca stood together to see the group off. Mualani was already packed lightly; she would guide them as far as the Easybreeze Resort and then return. The Archon looked as imposing as ever even in relative calm, while the other two made no attempt to hide their mixed feelings.

Varesa shifted her weight, arms full of a last round of travel snacks she insisted they take. “Road life isn’t for me,” she admitted. “The food situation alone would drive me crazy. I’d rather stay where the orchards are and… wait for whenever you come back through.” Her eyes flicked once toward Aether, still on Shenhe’s leash, and the disappointment was obvious.

Chasca was more direct. She stepped close enough that Aether could see the residual heat in her gaze, then stopped short of touching him. “I’ll miss my owner,” she said plainly. “But I’m not ready to leave Natlan. Not yet.” The words carried both genuine attachment and a clear boundary; the newly tamed Name Bearer still belonged to the land that had shaped her.

All three women looked at the leashed Traveler with open, frustrated hunger. The Pilgrimage and the following days had left them well-acquainted with what he could deliver, and the knowledge that Rosaria’s current restrictions put another round out of reach sat visibly sour on each of them. None, however, pushed the point. Even Mavuika only raised an eyebrow and glanced at Rosaria, testing the air.

Rosaria met the Archon’s look without flinching. There was no softening, no diplomatic concession, no flicker of surrender. The message was silent and absolute: the ban stood, Archon or not.

Mavuika’s mouth curved in a small, acknowledging smirk. She clapped Aether once on the shoulder — carefully above the line of anything that could be interpreted as an invitation — and stepped back.

With that the three women watched the pride form up and start down the coastal road, Mualani at the front, Shenhe keeping the short lead steady, and Rosaria walking just close enough to make certain her fiancé remembered exactly who still held the final word on his freedom.