Chapter Text
The Valley of the Setting Sun was always prettiest in its namesake.
The way the sky transitioned from beautiful shades of cerulean blue into gentle cascades of orange and yellow, before it was spattered with violent purple and pink like watercolor, dappling the sky and casting its shadowy breath onto the snowy mountaintops and the flowing grass in the endless, rolling valleys below…
It was breathtaking.
It didn’t matter how many times Taishen had seen it. Ever since he was young, the way the sky seemed to come alive just before he had to rest for the night had him captivated. It brought a new light to Jade Shell Village he hadn’t often seen as a child, for he was never allowed to stay up too late. But even now, now that he’s older and looking after little Mei Li as if she were his own, it’s never lost its spark.
On the occasion that Mei Li couldn’t fall asleep, or in a time when she was awoken by nightmares and couldn’t be settled, Taishen would take her out on the porch of the Serenitea and gaze at the stars with her. On one particular night, when it was evident far earlier that she wouldn’t slip into slumber easily, Taishen had brought her outside before the stars had nestled in for the night, when the sun was beginning its evening dance on the thirteenth day of the fifth month.
Watching her expression melt with awe as she watched the very sunsets he had seen as a kid kindled a warm, protective fire in his heart. It was the little things like this that brought Taishen joy.
He had promised himself from the moment Mei Li was taken under his guardianship that he would give her the best life he possibly could, that he would help her through her troubles no matter what, that he would give her the little slices of life his parents hadn’t allowed him to have. Reflecting back, he was overeager, trying too hard to be a good role model and person for her to look up to.
There were hardships, and there were struggles, and there were tantrums and fights and sobs that tore Taishen’s heart in two. In her eyes, he was trying to be a replacement, a backup for the lives she had lost, a substitute for the love she had carried with her for all the seven years of her life.
So he gave her space. He let her grieve in her own ways, realizing he was hasty, pushy, in his attempts to bring her peace. Tea couldn't soothe all wounds, it seemed. He feels a little foolish for thinking it ever could.
Taishen is often swept away in his own thoughts at night, when the moon is at its highest and the sun has long since surrendered to the calling rest of evening. He remains awake, mindlessly cleaning the whorling, red-tarnished countertops of his precious tea shop’s bar to clear his mind. Taking care of Mei Li had been a struggle thus far, and while he wouldn’t change the moments he had with her for the world, he kept wishing, hoping, praying to the Great Dragon he could do better, that he could be a better uncle, a better person for her.
He never expects to not be alone at times like this, nor does he expect Mei Li to reach out and try to spend time with him, grieving for her parents as she is. But one night, Mei Li had joined him, woken by a nightmare, and she stayed up with him for a long while. Then she joined him a few weeks later, and then again a week or so after that, and then the visits become more and more reoccuring until, over time, this became their little routine, where they stayed up late after wishing the sun farewell and cleaned the Serenitea together.
Over time, Mei Li stopped hiding from Taishen. She grew to find more comfort in her time spent with him. Taishen likes to think that, in part, it was his patience that helped to bring Mei Li out of her shell, even if she is still a trickster, even if she is stubborn, even if she still has room to improve.
But he has to tell himself that, while he helped her, it was ultimately Mei Li who made the choice to try, to change, to break away from her shell and start healing.
Taishen was the catalyst that kickstarted her growth, kickstarted her learning from her trials and errors. He was not her decision to make a change in her ways.
Taishen often reflects on just how much Mei Li has changed. Even after a year and a half together, their relationship isn’t perfect.
But that's okay.
It's a start, and in the end, that's all that really matters, isn't it?
Nine years later, on the eighth day of the eleventh month, Jade Shell Village slept peacefully under a blanket of glittering stars.
However, unbeknownst to them, the peace was an illusion.
That night, the Valley of the Setting Sun was quiet.
No, not quiet.
That night, the Valley of the Setting Sun was silent.
No waves clashed against the shores of the island.
No wind whistled over the mountaintops.
No animals snaked through the tall grasses.
But the stars breathed, alive.
The air rippled, yanking at strings unseen, grasping at wisps of life.
Then, suddenly, everything was quiet once more.
Not silent, now.
Quiet.
Life returned to the Valley of the Setting Sun as if it had always been there.
And in the dead of the night, tossing and turning in her uncle’s tea shop, one golden dragonborn slept fitfully.